Just Three Words
by AstonMartinVanquish
Summary: A story of finding love. Neither expecting eachother, are they ready to admit that it is love, that this is what they need
1. Chapter 1

This is my first venture into writing in the 3rd person.

Much love and thanks goes to Team Landscaperward.

Olena and Sam (Uk Alice)- pre reader extraordinaires.

And to Lushious Lita's &

Lamomo's awesome Beta skills.

Without them this would not be worth posting

Thank you

And as we all know SM owns all things Twilight.

I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1

Bella was waiting outside a small cottage, leaning against her rental car, for the real estate agent to appear. The area seemed nice; all the houses had well-kept lawns and seemed safe enough. As she bent over to look at her reflection in the side mirror, she wished had taken the time to apply at least some blush to her rather fair skin. While she waited, she pulled her hair back into a pony tail, let it loose, and once again, pulled it all up. She was fidgeting more and more as each minute ticked by. Finally, she let her hair loose, smiling as she saw her brown curls fall around her shoulders and down her back.

_Where was that real estate agent? _

Standing up straight again, she thrummed her fingers against the body of the car. Inexplicably, she felt a little nervous as this was going to be the fifth house she would have seen just this week.

The house looked like it had come out of a painting. It was described as a three bedroom wood cottage, with a wraparound porch, and even some wisteria. To her, it looked idyllic. She especially loved the way the wisteria climbed and wrapped along the porch railings and up onto the eaves, spreading its pungent aroma.

Her fingers crossed, Bella prayed that the inside was as lovely as the outside.

Bella really didn't know that much about the previous owner. The flyer just gave the basics and included a picture. However, while at the real estate agency, she had overheard some agents speak about the house. The previous owner had lived there for quite some time and had finally passed away of old age. It seemed that her family just wanted to sell the house as quickly as possible. As much as it saddened her to learn of the previous owner's death, Bella desperately hoped that this house, number 5, would be the one. The tiny apartment she rented in the city was just too small. She felt closed in and longed for some open space, she wanted something of her own.

Bella had been parceled between her parents, moving from town to town with her flighty Mother for years. Finally, she put her foot down and begged her mother to let her live with her father for the last year of school. She then had to endure being known as the Police Chief's daughter.

She had been to so many different schools when travelling with her mother that she knew how to mold into the background and go unnoticed although she was the perpetual "New" girl. She became a fly on the wall, threw herself into her books and studying.

Finally, after finishing her University degree, she moved to the city as soon as she got a job. She needed the escape that the move provided; she needed her own space, her own life. She was tired of being known as the daughter of the police chief and tired of being the mother of her "self-discovering" Mother. She longed to branch out, explore, and just be ….free. Yes, free. Bella smiled at herself. Free from an awkward life; free to start a new beginning.

Free was quickly becoming her favorite word.

Looking towards the cottage, she quietly whispered, "Please, let this be the one."

Jake whimpered in the car and Bella shushed him. A shiny and new, white car drove up next to her and stopped.

"Hi! I'm Jessica. You must be Bella." The bubbly young agent smiled brightly and shook Bella's hand as she introduced herself.

"Yes, I'm Bella."

"Let me show you around." Jessica smiled, swinging her dyed blonde hair over her shoulder.

Bella momentarily closed her eyes as if in prayer._ Please, God, let there be a park or something near here. Jake will drive me nuts if he's stuck in the backyard._

As they walked towards the cottage, Bella began asking about the surrounding neighborhood. "Are there any parks nearby? I need an open space for my dog."

Jessica grinned; her eyes glinted as she realized that this could be the thing to get Bella to buy.

"Oh yes! There is a beautiful park, just two blocks away. It has boardwalks and even has a heritage-listed stand of original forest. It's really a stunning park; very popular with families and picnickers on the weekends."

Jessica rambled on about the local scene but, as long as there was a park, Bella felt like this house could be it. Using an old-fashioned brass key, Jessica wrestled with the lock until the door opened. Falling like snow, paint particles and dust landed on Jessica's shoulders. Jessica laughed lightly, mentioning something about it only recently being put on the market. Bella wasn't really listening.

Bella didn't hear a thing Jessica said as she slowly ventured inside. Bella felt like she had stepped into a fairytale cottage. Wooden planks made up the walls in a gorgeous oak hue and the polished floors practically shined where rugs had once been. This cottage might be old, but Bella saw that it had been well taken care of. Dust had collected in the corners and spider webs clung to the window panes. As the women walked through the cottage, their footsteps echoed though the empty rooms.

Each room had its own fireplace and seemed quite large for the cottage. From the street, the cottage looked small and cozy but once inside, Bella saw that it was only deceptively small. The living room was a bit of an eyesore, but Bella could envision knocking out the wall through to the dining and kitchen walls to make a huge open space.

Jessica opened the creaky back door, explaining the dimensions and the possibilities of a sub-development in the back yard. Again, Bella wasn't listening as she was caught up in the subtle charm of the house. She stepped past Jessica and saw an overgrown, wild garden, fully fenced off from the neighbors.

Without hesitating, Bella turned to Jessica and said, "I'll take it."

After a quick trip back to Jessica's office, Bella jumped into her car and hugged Jake. He covered her with wet sloppy licks.

"Eww, Jake," She ruffled his thick fur as she pushed him away gently.

She couldn't believe that the owners accepted her price, but they did. They were ready to sell, she was ready to buy. Tomorrow, the keys would be in her hands.

Driving back to her tiny little apartment, she knew she had to call her farther. She dreaded calling him - well, not him. Rather, she dreaded the idea of calling and having to speak to his new wife. Pulling out her BlackBerry, she nervously pressed the numbers.

_Please, don't let Sue answer. Please, don't let Sue answer. Please, don't let Sue answer._

Luckily, her call went straight to the answering machine.

"Um, Dad, it's me. I just bought a house, it's really perfect. I think you would like it."

Next up was Renee, her mother. Bella had no fear in calling her mom's number – she knew Renee wouldn't answer. It came as no surprise to anyone that Renee was off on another one of her many self-help trips. This particular trip had Renee taking a vow of silence for an entire month. If her mom lasted a day, Bella would be very surprised. Bella left a short message, wondering if her mother was even allowed to have her phone with her.

Pulling her wayward thoughts together, Bella did what any new home owner did. She called her home contractor with the good news.

~O~O~O~

_Fucking idiots! _

Edward drove his truck through the congested streets, cursing at the stupidity of the other drivers clogging up the road. Rush hour made him long for a simpler life, but in reality he loved living in the city. He had everything he could ask for, right around the corner from where he lived. Traffic jams were the only thing he could mentally think of as a drawback. Before he knew it, he was at his apartment building, slowly making his way through the underground parking garage.

As he walked towards the elevator, he was pleasantly surprised to see how empty the garage was. Soon it would be packed to the walls, with everyone fighting to park close to the elevators and stairwell. Quickly striding in that direction himself, his boot steps echoing, he made his way up to the tenth floor.

How his sister had managed to convince him that this would be the best place for him to live, was still a mystery to him but he was grateful all the same. His apartment took up almost half of the entire tenth floor. Square foot living space competed with the wall to wall windows as the major buying points. From the windows, Edward was able to look across the entire city. Way in the background, on really clear days, he could even see the mountains. Alice had been a lifesaver when he moved – organizing the packers and movers and arranging his belongings. She was his sister and there was no one better to understand how he liked his stuff to be done - no extra clutter anywhere. As he watched the sun setting over the city, he hit the remote that caused the rollaway blinds to come down. He had no worries about privacy – he was on the tenth floor, after all - but he still felt that eyes were watching him. The blinds he'd specifically requested through Alice, allowed him to look out so that no one could see in. Privacy for a private man at its best.

If he was a poetic man, Edward would say that the lights made him feel less lonely. Late in the night, when he couldn't sleep, he would tell himself that the city lights meant that someone, somewhere was awake. The lights made them friends in the long hours before dawn.

Shucking off his work boots, he thought it was time to get something to eat. After a long day, Edward was positively starving. Looking around, he noted that the apartment had been straightened up - not that there was much to straighten up, but he could tell that Tanya must have stopped by. The pile of papers on the kitchen bench was the tell-tale sign. He made a mental note to grab her a bunch of flowers for her efforts. Opening the refrigerator, he mused that he would rather she left him some cookies, than straighten up his house.

PING!

As Edward gulped some milk from the jug, he smiled to himself. Alice was on her way and maybe she would cook something. He could hear her dogs, Seth and Leah, scampering around her, little barks here and there. Naturally, because he was the bigger, taller brother to the tiniest girl on the planet, Edward quickly hid.

He heard the key enter the lock and the door slowly open. Before Seth or Leah could give away his position, Edward wrapped his arms around Alice, giving her a tight hug.

"UGH! Edward Cullen, get your filthy hands off me! You're covered in dirt!" Alice screeched as Edward picked her up, her arms trapped by her side, and began rocking her back and forth like Seth did with his dog toys. "Put me down! You smell!"

"Come on, little sis! Don't you want a hug from your big brother?" Edward chuckled, knowing exactly what her reaction would be.

"I'm NOT your LITTLE sister, EDWARD!"

"But you're so…small. Yep, you're the little sister. The only thing on you that is big is your mouth. You are so short, you can't even get on some of the rides at the fair and you know it. Just accept it as a fact of life, girlie." Edward laughed, letting Alice out of his arms while ruffling her hair.

Edward and Alice, though siblings, looked like polar opposites. It was like genetics had taken the extreme ends of the family gene pool and created Alice and Edward. Alice barely topped five feet in heels, her colouring reminiscent of Disney's Snow White. She had the palest skin, the blackest of black hair, and looked like an antique china doll with her red Cupid's bow mouth and expressive eyes.

Edward, on the other hand, looked like he should be working on the farmlands of Ireland. His height came from their father's side; he was well over six feet tall, broad in the shoulders with muscled arms from his work. As black as Alice's hair was, it was a shock to see the burnished bronze of Edward's mane. The only shared gene between the two of them was their eyes. Alice's eyes were the green of a field clover, full of mischief, and inquisitive. Edward's green eyes seemed to take in the world around them and find it lacking. The green seemed startling to the unsuspecting. It was such a brilliant shade against his own pale skin tone.

"Gah! Edward, now I'm all dusty." Alice said as she looked down at her clothing. A fine layer of dust clung to everything; there was no use in trying to brush it off. "And what the hell is this?" She asked as she picked some greenish substance from her top.

"That, Alice, is Papillaria."

"In English, please, Edward. I thought paprika was a seasoning."

"Ha ha, very funny, Alice. Papillaria is hanging moss."

Edward bent down at Alice's feet, paying scant attention as she went on about her ruined shirt. Leah and Seth, Alice's two Jack Russel Terriers, were patiently waiting for his attention. As he scratched Seth, Leah sat on her haunches, seeming to wait for Edward's affections. Edward smiled, knowing that even though they were dogs, they seemed to act like people. Leah seemed to disapprove that he'd been petting Seth first. Her shiny eyes regarded Edward with a look of reproach, almost as if to say "Silly man, ladies first!" After a few minutes, Leah moved and went to sit by the door; turning her back to Edward.

"So, what are you and Jasper up to tonight?" Edward asked as Seth's back leg started tapping a steady rhythm against the wooden floor. At the sight of Seth's leg, Edward's laughter rang out in the quiet apartment.

"I'm not sure. We may rent a movie and order in. Want to come over?" Alice asked as she continued to pat off the dust. "You know, I'm going to have to take this to the dry cleaner."

"I'm sure you have a million similar tops in your closet, Alice, not to mention what you have in the store. I think you'll survive."

"That's not the point, Edward. Jasper likes this shirt on me, so I like this shirt more than the other ones."

"Sorry, Alice, I'll cover the cost of dry cleaning. Jasper will have another chance to admire you in that shirt." Edward replied, as he stood and attempted to give her another hug.

"No, you don't, Edward! Keep those filthy hands to yourself. Go have a shower and I'll talk to you later." Alice ordered.

"Yes, boss, whatever you say," Edward saluted as Alice swatted him on the arm. Alice stepped back into the hallway, the dogs tumbling out behind her, and walked to the only other door. Each of them had a half of the tenth floor – an apartment on each side of the hallway.

Turning back to Edward she asked, "So what are _you_ up to tonight, Edward?"

"I'm gonna clean up and go for a run. Then, I'll maybe hit the bar, have some nachos, hang out with the guys," he added. "The possibilities are endless…"

"We need to get you a woman, Edward," Alice shook her head.

"Why? And lose all of those possibilities?" Edward laughed a little as Alice scowled at him, each stepping in their doorways.

Edward showered quickly, washing the day's dirt off watching it swirl around his feet as the water cleansed his skin, the soap sliding over his body and hair, wanting to get his run in before it got too late. Some days, it felt as if he had all of this energy just waiting for an outlet - running was the closest he could get to having just that. It seemed to him that the harder the run, the better off his night would be. Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, he did up his Nikes and took to the stairs. Going down the stairs was a workout itself, but he felt the need for the run already coursing through him. He shot out of the foyer and was off. If only life could be so simple that a run would ease his mind.

Two hours and several miles later, he was through. He had another shower, this time with scalding water to ease his muscles and wash the sweat away. . Drying himself off, he thought back to Alice and her quest in finding him a woman. Alice wanted him to have a little of what she had found with Jasper. He understood that, but he didn't think just any woman would be able to smooth out any of his wrinkles.

"Wrinkles," Edward laughed at his reflection, running a hand through his unruly bronze hair. "More like permanent creases."

Dressed once more in old jeans, a button down shirt and a leather jacket, he slipped his keys and wallet into his pockets and went out. As if he was on autopilot, he made his way down to the bar a few blocks from his apartment. Next to his apartment, the bar was his home away from home. He'd spent many hours there, and they'd all been well spent. The lingering smell of cigarettes and beer, the bluesy music groaning out of the jukebox, the clink of the pool balls in the back corner – they were his creature comforts.

Walking up to the bar, Mike the bartender, didn't even have to ask him what he wanted to drink. Mike had already pulled out a bottle of Bud and simply asked "Nachos?"

Mike was not a man of many words and, for that alone, Edward knew he was in the right place. "I'll have one of the girls bring it over when it's ready."

"Thanks Mike. Is Emmett here?"

A heavy punch in the arm let Edward know that Emmett was indeed waiting for him. "Where have you been, Edward?"

"Hey! Yeah, I know I've been MIA. I've been lifting too many weights at work the past few weeks so I've been running instead to balance that out. You know, around the neighbourhood. Don't tell me you actually missed me?" he said, teasing.

Emmett was a personal trainer and a damn good one at that. He had taken on Edward as a client not too long ago and had told him several times that it was his calling to bring Edward up to his level. Edward wasn't in it to gain muscle but rather, to help him work off that energy vibe. It was always great to see Emmett out of the gym; mainly because he was such a hard task master and would never let him out of his reps.

"Hey!" Edward noticed that Emmett had cut off his hair. "What's going on with the whole G.I. Joe buzz cut? You look like a Drill Sergeant. I feel like I need to be doing some push-ups for you."

"Aw, man! Yuck it up while you can. Rose decided to give me a haircut." Emmett shook his head as he ran his hand over his now bare scalp.

"Don't worry, Sergeant. It will grow back." Edward laughed.

"It better." Emmett growled under his breath.

As they made their way over to Emmett's table, Adele came by with the nachos. Placing the plate on the table, she smiled at Edward coyly.

"Here you go, Edward. I added some extra cheese and jalapenos just for you. Enjoy." With a wink, she turned and swayed her way back to Mike at the bar. Edward, not one to get flustered easily, began to blush as Emmett poked fun.

"Dude! She so wants you. She winked! How come she never winks at me? Am I not cute? I even have dimples! She won't bring anything to me." Emmett complained, making Edward even more embarrassed. As he went on, Emmett reached across the table and began to eat.

"Hey, that's mine! Get your own. And Adele has got to be older than Jesus, Emmett. That's just sick."

Emmett slowed his hand, a nacho halfway towards his mouth.

"It's cool, man. Eat it up. I'll never finish it."

With his mouth full of cheesy nachos, Emmett smirked and said, "She could be your Mrs Robinson." With that, Edward spewed beer.

"Hell, no! Don't force me to knock your ass out, McCarty. It's still early and I sure don't want to have to answer to Rose."

As the night progressed, Edward was glad he had ventured out of the apartment. He was having a good time hanging out with Emmett - eating nachos, sipping on some brew and even managing a game of pool. Unfortunately, it was cut short when Emmett got a phone call from his wife Rose. He ribbed Emmett for having a curfew and for allowing him to be the pool game winner by default. Plans for a re-match were made as they walked out of the bar and into the foggy night.

As Edward walked back into his apartment, he pressed the remote to open the window blinds. Not bothering with the room lights, he eased himself onto the lounge to watch the lights way down below. .

The night skyline glinted with a thousand little lights. Red and white lights marked down town. "_Rubies going one way, diamonds going another._" Edward thought to himself.

Slowly and wearily, he began to remove his shoes and socks; next he shed his jeans and shirt until he was left in his briefs. Grabbing a throw from the back of the leather lounge, he casually covered his legs and turned the television on with the volume on low.

Edward felt his eyes grow heavy; sleep was creeping up on him and he welcomed it. It didn't last. It never did.

He mind was whirling a hundred miles a minute, work concerns, random stuff jumbling around his brain, refusing to quiet down. Edward couldn't go to sleep just yet. He had to check in with her first.

When he had first moved into the building, he had sworn that he wouldn't feel the need to check up on her all the time but he couldn't help it, not until he knew she was safe for the night. Only then would his brain finally slow down enough to get just a few hours of sleep. Resigned, he texted her.

**Hey**

_Yes, Edward_

**Can't sleep w/o checking in**

_I Know._

**U ok?**

_Yeah_

**Love you, Shortie.**

_Luv u 2_

**Nite**

_Good nigh__t_

Edward shut his phone, happy that she was still safe; but so frustrated with himself that he couldn't sleep without knowing she was alright. His body was so worn out and his brain was so tired. He looked at his watch - 3 more hours till he had to get up. He rested back into the cushions and sleep finally came.

Edward woke up to the mottled morning light filtering into the room.

"Three hours sleep isn't too bad."

Although tired, Edward knew he wasn't going to fall back asleep. His body had already grown accustomed to the short hours of sleep. No matter how physically drained he felt; he could never sleep more than three hours a night. To get his body up and off of the couch, Edward went to brush his teeth and got dressed in his running gear. An early morning run was what he needed. He took to the building stairs at a quick pace and was soon out on the sidewalk.

Edward loved the early morning hour - everything looked and smelled new and clean. It was as if the worries of the night before had been magically erased away. It didn't matter what had happened the day before - here was an opportunity for a fresh start. With a hoodie to ward off the chill in the air, he zigzagged his way through the other early risers on the sidewalk and ran.

Edward made his way down to the park; it had great running trails and lots of open spaces. At such an early hour, not too many people were around, only a few dog walkers and a few joggers. Once in a while, he would see a "boot camp" exercise group going through their paces on the vast lawns. His favourite part of the park was the large wooded area in the centre, running through there made him feel like he was in the forest - it was easy to forget that a sprawling city even existed just a few steps away.

As he ran, he would wonder about the exact age of the oldest trees, thinking that one day he would love to do a core sample to find out. He knew every species of vegetation growing in that city forest and was in awe at how beautiful nature was when left to its own devices. He loved the soft mosses and ferns that grew with barely any sunlight and marvelled at how each plant managed to thrive.

There was a wooded path along the creek that snaked through the middle of the forest with a small bridge going over. The water ran so clean that it was like crystal. Flickers of the dappled sunlight sparkled on the moving water. As he ran past, Edward usually wanted to stop and stick his feet in the creek, but he never did.

The air seemed cleaner in that forest. Edward breathed deeply as he passed over the bridge. After going over the bridge, Edward knew it was time to head back to the apartment. His feet pounding on the trail, he thought of his schedule for the day. Today, he had to put the finishing touches on Mrs Stanley's pool-side garden. He cringed whenever he thought of her plant selection. It was so over the top that nothing seemed to flow with the surrounding landscape. He thought that she might be colour-blind, but he couldn't exactly tell how he felt about her choices. She was a paying customer.

After all, the client was always right, right?

~O~O~O~


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bella pulled the brass key with nervous excitement out of her pocket and placed it into the lock of her new house. She turned it in the lock until she felt it unlatch and then finally felt the emotion flow over her, that she finally had a home of her own. She swung the door wide. "_Finally, a home of my own."_

Jake bound past her and into the cottage. His scampering paws echoed throughout the empty rooms.

"Show us where you want everything and we can get you moved in."

"Sure, Bruce. Let me show you." Bella ushered the movers inside, quite in awe that she now owned the place. Moving through the house, Bella showed the men where she wanted everything placed. She was glad that she did not have many possessions; less to unload and unpack. Soon, she would be completely settled into her new home.

Within the hour, the moving truck was emptied and Bella was waving goodbye. She remained on the porch, under the hanging wisteria, as she watched the truck moving down the street.

It took her most of the day to unpack her things. Her book collection took her the longest, as she lovingly placed all her veterinary sciences textbooks on her oak bookshelf. Next came all her loved fiction novels, in both alphabetical and series order. She moved the furniture around, shifting her couch and television just so. In the master bedroom, she moved her bed so she could wake up looking out the French doors - she would wake every morning with a view out of the doors, through the porch and lastly of her new backyard.

Stepping back, she looked around, happy with her accomplishment for the day. Slowly but surely, her new house began to look like home. She straightened the blanket on her couch, deftly hiding a few tears that Jake had made when he was a young pup.

Jake ran past with a rolled up ball of newspaper, scampering and sliding along the polished wooden floorboards. He was attempting to "catch" the escaping ball. Bella laughed at his antics as he bounded out the back door in triumph, where he finally mangled the paper ball. Following him out back, her eyes gazed around the wilderness that was her backyard.

"What a mess!" Bella thought. The grass was as tall as she was. The bushes and vines were so overgrown, she wondered if she would even be able to make out the back fence.

Jake seemed happy as he ducked under a bush with his paper ball, completely disappearing into the under growth. "Come on, Jake, let's go!" Bella called, laughing as Jake bounded back out, stopping momentarily to give her a little woof before making a beeline straight for the front door.

Following him inside, she grabbed a jacket as the afternoon had grown cooler. Jake was waiting by the front door with his leash in his mouth. His whole backend was wagging so hard, she wondered how on earth he actually stayed on his feet.

"Want to go to the park, Jake?" Bella patted Jake as she clicked on his leash.

She looked back at her cottage as they followed the estate agent's directions to the park. She still couldn't believe that the cottage was hers, that she had a place to call home. She desperately wanted to feel that, to have that connection, but something at the back of her mind niggled that this all could slip through her fingers - all gone. She dreaded the thought that she might have to move on again. She wanted to have permanence.

Turning the last corner, the sight and smell of the park brought Bella out of her melancholy. She could see the forest Jessica had mentioned. Jake pulled on the leash but Bella took a few seconds to breathe in the smell of damp soil and freshly cut grass; the smell of nature. The vast lawns of the park were so much bigger that she had ever imagined.

"Who would ever have thought this would be right in the city?" She said to Jake as he strained to get to the park.

Nose to the ground, Jake sniffed at everything. Every little bush, every rock and every lamp post had to be peed on. Bella sighed, a little embarrassed by Jake having to mark everything.

"Jesus, Jake, everyone would think I never take you outside."

The concrete paths wound through the park grassland and, as they neared the edge of the forest, they became slightly raised and turned into boardwalks. From beyond the wall of trees, Bella could hear the babbling of a creek. Bending down to Jake, she whispered into his ear, "Can you hear that, Buddy? Sounds like there is somewhere for you to swim, my furry friend."

Jake looked up at her and cocked his head to the side, seeming to be listening intently to her. Bella pointed toward the trees and Jake instantly started heading there. Once again, his nose was pressed to the ground taking in all the smells.

Bella was amazed by the beauty of the forest as they wandered deeper into the trees. It was truly a beautiful place. The wooden planks of the boardwalk were covered in moss; a gorgeous shade of green. Bella could make out the lichen that grew on the sides of the trunks of the trees that never saw daylight. Bella imagined that as a child, she would have thought fairies lived in this part of the park, fluttering amongst the trunks of the trees and between the mossy rocks and ferns.

The sound of babbling water grew louder and coolness prevailed as the forest became thicker. Looking up, Bella could hardly see the sky. She shivered a little here in the shade - the sun could hardly reach her through the thick cover of the enormous trees towering above. She pulled on her jacket and zipped it closed.

Just ahead, butted against the boardwalk, was a quaint little bridge, covered with moss and lichen. Bella smiled as Jake pulled hard on his leash. He knew what was ahead and was straining to get there. She looked around, not seeing anyone. She bent down and released Jake from his leash. Jake bounded off the boardwalk and went straight to the creek. At the edge of the water, Jake stopped, waiting for her. He seemed to know what was to happen next.

As Bella walked towards the creek, she realized how truly beautiful it was in this secret, hidden part of the park. The water meandered and slowly cascaded over an outcropping of rocks, tumbling down to a deep pool. The water was crystal clear and the rocks and gravel on the bottom were rounded by the years of constantly moving water.

"You ready?" She asked Jake. Jake went into a stance, his tail wagging furiously and nearly sending him off balance. Bella bent down to pick a small stone and threw it so it skimmed across the surface, counting the bounces as it cut across the surface. As soon as it skipped, Jake lunged, landing in the deepest part of the pool, swimming after the skimming rock. When the rock stopped and sunk to the bottom, he turned and swam back standing in the shallows near the bank. There, he shook out his fur, barking at her as if to tell her to hurry up. His bright eyes stared at her, waiting for her to throw the next rock. Bella laughed - she knew he could do this all afternoon and never get tired. She indulged him, laughing at the close calls, when he would almost catch the rocks in flight. They were in their own little world.

Bella was startled when a voice sounded from behind her.

"Hi there. I am not sure if you knew that you aren't supposed to have your dog off of his leash."

Quickly, Bella turned around, her hand over her heart. The voice didn't sound scolding so she knew she wasn't in that much trouble.

In front of her stood a petite woman, short, dark hair surrounding a feminine face. What really called to Bella was her smile. It was a laughing smile, and the woman's eyes matched it, shining in happiness at the sight of Jake trying to swim.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Maybe next time, come a bit before seven in the morning. That's when the dog-walkers are here. Most people let their dogs run a bit, but be careful of the walkers who don't. They tend to be a bit prissy. Oh! I'm Alice." The woman said, walking closer towards Bella and extending her hand.

"Thanks, Alice. I'm Bella and this is Jake." She shook Alice's hand and then pointed over to the now thoroughly drenched dog. Jake shook out his fur, sprinkling water drops over both of them, and made a beeline to greet Alice's dogs.

"I'm so sorry." Bella said as she tried to restrain Jake. He was worming his way between the two of them and now had his nose right up the backside of one of Alice's dogs. "Jake! Stop it, Jake!"

"Don't worry about it." Alice laughed. She was completely tangled up in leashes as both of her dogs tried to walk around her; followed by a sniffing Jake. Soon, she was wrapped up as tight as a mummy. Bending awkwardly, she managed to unleash her dogs and all three took off in a doggy version of chase.

"The pesky Jack Russell, that's Seth. He's a darling, but she can get a little feisty. Her name is Leah" Alice laughed. "I haven't seen you before. I know most of the dogs around here. Have you just moved here?"

"Just today," Bella replied. "I start my new job in two days, I'm pretty excited. It seems nice here."

"Well, I like it here. Would you like to walk with us?" Alice asked as she bent down to pat Jake, who had returned to sniff out the new person.

"Sure, that would be nice."

"So, Bella. What kind of dog is Jake?"

"Oh, Jake came into the animal shelter as an abandoned animal. He was pretty messed up." Bella bent down to give him a pat. "But he's all good now, aren't you boy? I really couldn't tell you what he is; I think he's got a bit of everything, so he's a mutt."

Bella thought back to her days at the university - when she wasn't in class, she could always be found at the animal shelter. One day a sad looking, malnourished six-month old puppy was brought in. He was so quiet and did not like to be petted; always shying away and whimpering in a corner if anyone got too close. Bella felt her heart crying out for the puppy and ended up adopting him; much to the disapproval of her father.

One wouldn't recognize that sad puppy nowadays. Jake stood at knee-height and had long shaggy russet-colored hair. He was a smart dog, seemingly too smart at times. It had taken Bella five long months to get him to come out of his shell. Now he was her best friend and she could not imagine her life without him. He filled the void that no person had yet filled.

As the two women walked along the path, Alice and Bella chatted about the town - where the good restaurants were, which clubs had the best vibe. Alice talked animatedly and Bella felt drawn to her. Alice was almost like a soothing balm, easing Bella's nerves about moving into a new city.

"Oh! I have to introduce you to my husband, Jasper. I think you'd like him. These two guys," pointing toward her dogs, "are our babies. They are my pre-training for when we have our real kids." Alice laughed.

Bella laughed along with her. "Yes, I agree. Dogs are just like having kids and best of all, they can't really whine at you and beg for the latest toy."

"True that." Alice giggled.

Bella mused to herself, Jake_ was definitely her baby and she would be surprised if he would let another man in her life._

"So, Bella, tell me about your new job." Alice asked as they were neared the end of the boardwalk and placing their dogs back on their leashes.

"I'm the new Vet at Paws, Claws and Feathers." Bella smiled, as she couldn't wait to start work. She felt that when she started, it would finally sink in that she was here for good.

"That's where we take Seth and Leah!" Alice exclaimed as she clapped her hands together.

"Awesome! I hope I only see you for check-ups, then," Bella laughed.

"We should definitely have coffee some time. I work near the vet's. I have a little boutique just around the corner." She pulled out a pen and scribbled a number on a business card. "Here, when you get settled, give me a call, we'll do coffee or something. I come down here every morning around six thirty or seven, if you want some company on your doggy walk."

"Sure, Alice. That would be great, thanks."

With their plans for coffee semi-settled, they stopped at a fork in the boardwalk.

"This is my path home. It was really great meeting you, Bella. Thanks for the talk and the walk. Best of luck with your new job."

"It was cool meeting you too, Alice. Bye for now!" Bella waved as Alice took a path that split off the main pathway.

She thought that Alice seemed such a happy person, very laid-back and so friendly. Bella knew she would definitely take Alice up on her offer for coffee. It would be great to have at least one friend here. Smiling as she bent down to pat Jake, she started to have a really good feeling about this move.

~O~O~O~

Alice moved along the path, to the point of being almost dragged by Seth and Leah. She thought about this new person, this Bella, who looked like she needed a friend. Bella stood almost a head taller than she did, with beautiful, long brown hair that curled around her shoulders, framing her face. She had a natural beauty and flawless skin. Someone Edward might like? Bella seemed unpretentious and nothing like these city women Edward despised.

Pondering these thoughts, Alice really hoped Bella would give her a call or at least bump into her at the park again. She seemed like the quiet type, almost reserved, but there was something about her, something down to earth. Bella's deep brown eyes seemed a little lost but so friendly.

Alice had a feeling that they would become friends and the thought of having someone new in her life excited her. She was getting a little tired of the pretentious city women who thought the world revolved around only them, too.

Her thoughts kept coming back to her brother, Edward. She understood him better than anyone, and understood his reluctance to date these pretentious women. It saddened her that he thought he could not find with someone a connection like the one she'd found with Jasper. It was only through being with Jasper that she had been able to sleep through the night. He was her panacea.

Alice sighed as she worried about her brother. They were so alike, which was hardly surprising, because as they grew up, they only had each other to rely on. She could not imagine a life without him in it.

"_Edward, I'm going to find you someone, you deserve it." _Alice sighed to herself.

Moving along the street, she turned the corner and smiled to the doorman who held the apartment complex door open for her.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Whitlock," he said as he tilted his hat.

"Hi, James." She smiled at him as he bent down to give Leah a pat. Leah loved being the center of anyone's attention and began wagging her little tail in delight. Seth, however, stood right beside Alice as if he were a guard. Seth didn't like James one bit. Alice giggled at the antics of her dogs.

Quickly, she made her way through the lobby and up the elevator. When she got out on her floor, she looked over to Edward's door. Alice wondered if she should drop by but decided that she had better not. He was probably still on site at his latest job, since he was scheduled to finish today. She thought she would stop by later on in the evening, instead.

"Jasper, you home?" She called as she moved to the kitchen to get Seth and Leah some water after their walk.

"Yeah, Babe, I'm just about to take a shower." He called from the bathroom.

Alice smiled and made her way there. She stood in the doorway to the bathroom admiring her husband. He had his back to her as he took off his shirt. Her mind flashed back to the night she had first met Jasper.

_After a week of nothing but rain, Edward and Alice ventured out of their apartment making their way to their favorite bar. It was nearing midnight and the bar was about to close. They had just won their fifth game of pool and they had an extra $500 in their pocket. Alice sat at the bar as Edward chatted to Emmett by the pool table. She took a long sip of her Vodka Lime and soda, wondering what movie Edward and she would pick to watch tonight. It was sure to be another night of falling asleep in the living room together yet again._

_Someone sat down beside her and water drops splashed across her back as whoever it was took off their coat. When she turned to offer a cutting remark, she instead became speechless. A pair of lost looking blue eyes met hers and she noted a tangle of blonde hair. She was absolutely speechless._

"_Sorry, Ma'am," the stranger said in a deep Southern accent._

_In a moment of braveness Alice replied, "I'm Alice, I've been waiting for you."_

'_That was less than a year ago'_, Alice thought and smiled a secret smile to herself.

Standing in the doorway, her eyes roamed over his masculine back, noting the faint scars crisscrossing his back. His hair was blonde, slightly curly and cut to the nape of his neck. Alice smiled as he bent down to lower his suit pants; his belt buckle clanked as it hit the floor. She naturally noticed his butt muscles clenching as he stepped out of his pants. _Yum._

She made a step closer and moved her hand down his back.

"Alice! Jesus, you scared me!" Jasper exclaimed as he turned quickly towards her.

"Sorry, Jazz, I couldn't help myself," She smirked.

Jasper pulled her in close, lifting her up and onto the vanity.

"Hmm, I might not be able to help MYSELF either." He said as he nuzzled into her neck. Alice sighed and leaned into him, raking her nails across his back.

~O~O~O~

Edward was finishing up across town, raking the last of the mulch across the top of Mrs. Stanley's new garden. He pulled out the t-shirt that he had tucked into his jeans and mopped his brow. He hardly wanted to look back at what he had created.

His team had just had to install a concrete retaining wall to hold back the steep incline of the hill behind her house. Heavy rain had dislodged the structure of the hill, sending a mini landslide of mud and debris into her pool.

Mrs. Stanley had wanted the retaining wall to be painted fluorescent pink. The terracotta pots, which would have looked lovely in any other setting, were painted fluorescent yellow. Trying to talk her out of the color scheme had been impossible. Thankfully, she had let him have some leeway in the plant choice, but not much. She wanted palms, lots of palms. Not a bad choice, but he worried about the chilly morning frosts. The new plants would be frostbitten since they were not native to this area.

Incited, he decided on a few focal plants. The plants were mainly _Cyrtostachys Renda_ (Lipstick Palms) since their trunks were a deep red/pink color and would somewhat fit in with the color scheme. She agreed on that, and thankfully she had the money to buy fully mature plants so that the hideous color of the paint was almost hidden by the green leafy foliage. For the plants in the fluorescent yellow terracotta pots, he planted _Opuntia, _by specific orders from the client.Mrs. Stanley had decided to go with palms and prickly pears – a very odd combination in Edward's opinion.

Edward and his crew had been at work on the Stanley's garden for a little over a week and he had yet to meet her husband. Edward wondered if the man had purposefully stayed away or if his job took him away from home. The man obviously had money. This house was situated in a prestigious part of the city, nestled into the hills with views of the city.

For some reason, Mr. Stanley's absence reminded Edward of his own father's frequent absences. The senior Mr. Cullen was gone often, always working, and to Edward's young mind, a rather emotionless man. Everything about him revolved around making money and having status. Thinking back, Edward would wager that both Alice and he saw their father a mere week out of an entire year. Edward then thought of Mrs. Stanley. Would his mother, if she had lived, been like her? He shuddered at the thought.

Edward jumped a little as Mrs. Stanley's voice startled him out of his pondering.

"Oh, Edward! It's spectacular." Jessica purred, looking at him, not her new garden. Edward quickly put his t-shirt back on, very uncomfortable at her insinuation. He took a step back as she closed the distance.

"Um, thanks, it's all done. I hope you enjoy your new garden." He wiped his hands on his pants and began to collect the last of his tools.

"It's great. Can you do the front of the house as well?" She asked quickly, closing the space between them even further.

Edward cringed at the thought. _'Where the hell is this woman's husband?'_

"You'll have to call Tanya, my secretary. She's in control of placing all the jobs. I'm not sure when there is an opening so it would be best if you gave her a call." Edward hesitated in reaching into his back pocket to give her a business card.

"I will!" Jessica gushed. "I added a little extra to your final total. It was very, very nice having you and your crew around the house." She reached out and covered his hand with hers as she took the card. "Thank you, Edward."

Edward felt like saying, "_What the hell is wrong with you, woman!"_

Instead, he graciously said, "You're welcome."

"Are you sure you don't want to come in for a drink? I've got a well-stocked bar. Anything you want?" She purred, flicking her fake blonde hair over her shoulder. Edward shuddered.

"Sorry, Jessica, but I really can't. I have to get back, but thank you for the offer."

He hated having to be nice to these freaks.

Gathering his tools, he made his way to his truck and tossed them in the back, thanking god that he had put in a custom liner so that the tools could not destroy the paintwork. However, he did not have time to stow anything away properly. He hated being ogled and hit on. It made his skin crawl. He wanted to get out of there.

"Goodbye, Edward. Come by any time you like. I'll be sure to make that appointment for you to do the front," Jessica batted her lashes.

"Sure, see you later, _Mrs._ Stanley." Edward jumped in the truck and swiftly drove away. He wondered if there was something wrong with him as he didn't feel attracted to her one bit since she appeared to want more. He shuddered again at the thought.

Stepping into his shower, he washed the dirt and grime from his body. The water seemed to clear his mind as well as his body. Washing his hair, he mused at the thought of how nice it would be if someone else would do that for him.

Shaking his head, he made himself not think of such things. With purpose, he stepped out of the shower and dried off. He reflected that his bed was still made up, not slept in for days. He had spent the last couple of nights sleeping in the den. He shrugged and pulled on a fresh t-shirt and shorts.

Stopping by Alice's door, he thought better than to knock, for he had the feeling she would be busy. Smirking to himself, he ran down the stairs and onto the street. He needed to run and run far today.


	3. Chapter 3

All characters belong to SM. I just like playing with them.

Thanks go to Uk Alice, Olena, Lita

And especially the awesome Beta skills of Lamomo

Thank you to all that have reviewed the last two chapters, you blow my mind.

Thank you.

Chapter Three

Edward yawned as he fumbled to shut off the annoying alarm, reaching further forward to the coffee table until he actually fell off the couch in his quest for the phone. Now wide-awake, he managed to right himself and find the offending article, quickly silencing the annoying BEEP BEEP BEEP.

"Fucking stupid phone! I'm going to have to change that tone," he mumbled to himself as he stretched and made his way to his room. The unmade bed was still bothering him, but he did not want to think about it at the moment. Pulling on his hoodie and slipping on his Nikes, he made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of OJ before his morning run. Guzzling it down, he grabbed his keys and phone.

He set off at a slow pace at first, to warm the body, focusing on the pace of his steps he rid himself of the concern that he could not sleep.

It was the morning of Bella's first day of work and the alarm was set for 6am. She'd set it early so she could take Jake for his morning walk, worried that she was going to leave him alone at home for the day.

She cuddled into him still bleary from sleep. "Come on, let's go." Jake licked her face and Bella pushed him away as she pushed herself up from her comfortable bed.

Sleepily, she pulled on some sweats and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, not concerned about her looks at this hour of the morning. Jake was eager and waiting by the door already. Putting on her Converse, she shivered, as the morning air was quite crisp.

As they neared the park, Jake was already straining at the lead, knowing where he was headed. Sure enough, as Alice had said, there were a few people with their dogs off the lead.

Bella bent down to unhitch Jake's lead, and he got to work straight away, marking everything that was standing still. Bella blushed, a little embarrassed at Jake's brazen attempts to make the park his own. Grabbing a few "doggy doo" bags from the dispenser at the bin, Bella moved off toward the boardwalk and the "fairy forest," calling Jake to come with her.

The morning air was brisk and the sun had only just begun to break above the tree line, while lamps still glowed on along the pathways. The light was steadily rising, though, brightening the sky in a pinkish hue.

Jake sniffed at a few dogs and Bella murmured "Good Morning" to their owners as they passed. They all offered their morning greetings and bent down to give Jake a pat even if he snobbishly ignored them.

Bella knew his snooty behaviour was because he was on a mission to get to the bridge with the creek. He bounded ahead, happily sniffing everything on his way, and was patiently waiting for her on the bridge.

As Bella finally reached Jake, a jogger was running toward him from the other direction. His pounding feet on the bridge startled Jake and he turned and growled. The jogger slowed down to a stop as he neared the growling dog.

'Oh God no, not now Jake,' she thought. She felt the heat rise in her face as she gave Jake a gentle whack to distract him from the jogger. She swiftly re-latched his lead and sternly told him "No."

She turned to look up at the jogger, about to apologise for Jake's behaviour, but her words came out in a jumble as she looked into his eyes.

Time seemed at a stand-still.

The man was so handsome, his eyes a piercing green, his skin seemed so soft, she almost wanted to touch it. She had never seen anyone this breath-takingly stunning before in her life. His features seemed airbrushed, his high cheekbones, a perfectly proportioned nose, soft full lips. All she could think of was that he was 'so pretty.' Her heart began to pound, her mouth drying as her hands started to sweat. She took a breath, he smelt like cinnamon and citrus.

"I'm so sorry…I, ah… I don't know what his problem is." She stammered, trying not to say, "You're so pretty" instead.

He hesitated for a second, looking at her. Bella thought she saw a look of awkwardness.

"No worries." He said, smiling as he nodded, then continued to jog.

Bella was taken aback as she stared at the departing figure. "Oh my god, that was so embarrassing," she murmured to herself, her cheeks still burning. She shook her head as she realised the effect the handsome man had had on her. His smile – with a grin that crept up slowly on one side until it was a full smile – had made her feel weak in the knees.

'What the hell was that?' She chided herself.

She calmed as she took off Jake's lead and allowed him down to the creek. They began the game, skipping rocks. She tried to concentrate but her mind, however, was still on the jogger. She was perplexed; she had never been at a loss for words around men. Well, she had never really been interested in men.

She had always been either too busy studying when she was at uni or too caught up in work to bother. She had had a few little flings at parties, but that was mainly the effect of alcohol. Other than that, in her mind men were just one side of the species - just out for a good time, not interested in anything but sex, much like her Father.

This man, however, was beautiful. He brought an unusual sensation to her body that she could not put her finger on – a tingling, a loss of words and co-ordination. She could not help but think about this man, even though she could only take in his face as his head was covered in a hoodie. His eyes were a stunning brilliant green, deep and intense. A perfectly straight nose and full soft looking lips, he had just a hint of 5 o'clock shadow. She could not tell what colour hair he had, but she had a feeling it would be soft as down.

"Bella, get a grip." She said to herself and then wondered if he ran along the bridge every morning. Looking down at her watch, she took in the time - 6:25 am.

Bella started to laugh at herself, "God, I need a life!"

Calling to Jake, they moved along the path and headed back home, wondering along the way where the jogging man lived.

Edward moved along the path with a grin on his face. He could not help but smile at the reaction the girl by the bridge had had when her dog growled at him. He had not seen any woman blush that intensely in a long while, and found it quite beautiful, the red creeping into her cheeks forming the most delightful ambiance, accentuating her features. Edward had never seen this girl before, but he wondered who she might be, since most of the people who were out at this time of the morning were familiar to him.

He found her stammering to be endearing too, as not many women these days were ever shy around him. In fact, it was the complete opposite - women tended to throw themselves at him and he hated that.

As he ran home, he could not get her face out of his thoughts, her eyes wide with embarrassment, deep and brown, seemingly endless pools, her dark lashes were long and lush. Her lips seemed soft, full and tender as she tried to apologise. Her unkempt hair was casually tied back, with loose locks falling on either side of her face, framing it. He had even noticed her nice tight ass as she bent over to leash her dog.

"Geez, I could have come up with something better than 'No worries'," he scolded himself, as he realised that she had made him just as nervous. It had been a long time since a woman had made his heart skip a beat.

Looking down to his watch as he rounded the corner to his apartment, he saw the time flick over to 6:45am and he mentally also took note of the time he had seen her on the bridge. He shook himself out of his thoughts and focused on the day ahead of him.

It was an office day today and, although the physical activity and the creation of his landscapes were satisfying, Edward loved the process of drawing up the drafts to his visions. There was something to be said to being lost in the artistic rendering of an idea, then following it through to completion, to see the full effect of his imagination.

Entering his downtown office, Edward placed a small bouquet of flowers on Tanya's desk. It was too early for her to be in yet or for anyone actually, but he knew she would appreciate the thought.

Tanya had worked for Edward for the past 3 years, from the very beginning of Cullen Landscape Designs or CLD as it was known. She was his distant cousin and, upon moving to the city, she had found it hard to find a decent job to cover the cost of living for her daughter and herself. Offering her a position in a fledgling business, Edward had not thought twice, and Tanya had proved to be more than her worth. She was remarkable in her admin duties and was an amazing multi-tasker. She managed all his clients, liaised with his accountants and did all the menial tasks that took away from him completing his contracts. He could not imagine being able to stay on top of all the paperwork without her.

Many people recommended that Edward should not employ family, but most people did not understand him. This made him all the more enthusiastic to employ Tanya, and she was worth every penny.

Edward had a few major jobs in the pipeline over the next few months and he always made the effort to be on site, even though he had three crews working for him. If he really wanted, he could stay at home and kick up his heels but he loved the physical activity and the ability to see his visions come to fruition.

The next big project was a Resort development, which was linked to one of the city's prestigious golf clubs. It would be a great opportunity to showcase his company's work and, in turn, his own work.

Folding out the draft plans of the resort, Edward set about jotting ideas of the form and function of the gardens, working out on paper how the aesthetics of his ideas would flow to be a functional yet beautiful piece of living art.

Mulling over some ideas, Edward pulled out his large journal, one in which he would draw up smaller ideas to incorporate into to the grand scheme of his vision. Idly, he began to sketch as he thought about the layout. He liked to let things flow in this first stage, leaving his mind to ponder over potential designs, since his hand seemed to have a mind of its own.

He was startled out of his semi-hypnotic trance by Tanya herself, who placed a large steaming mug of coffee beside him.

"Thanks for the flowers Edward, you didn't have to… hey, that is so life-like, who is it?" Not hearing her properly, he turned to her.

Edward sipped the coffee, "Um… What? Oh, the flowers… Yeah, so…thanks for tidying up the apartment, you shouldn't have..."

"Oh, that? That was nothing … but this is so realistic." Tanya traced her fingers across the page of the journal. Edward looked down at what he had drawn and shock made him stammer again.

"Oh… I was just… Just thinking about ideas for the links project." He quickly closed the journal.

"Oh, and by the way, Tanya, if Jessica Stanley calls, tell her we are all booked out."

"Can do, Edward." Tanya smiled, not wanting to push him, even though the image Edward had drawn was beautiful. She hoped that maybe he had found someone. She made her way out of the office, quietly closing the door behind her.

Edward opened his journal again and stared at the eyes of the girl by the bridge.

~O~O~O~

Bella hugged Jake hard as she said her goodbyes to him. He stared at her forlornly as she ruffled his fur.

"I'll be back before you know it, Jake. You be good and stay, ok." Bella closed the door behind her, excitement and nervousness pulsed through her veins. She worried about Jake as she made her way to work in her new little yellow car. She knew he would be all right but she could not help worry about him being all alone.

Parking outside 'Paws Claws and Feathers', Bella pulled herself together and smoothed her hair as she looked into the rear view mirror.

"Ok, let's do this."

She made her way through the big glass double doors of the Vets.

"Ah, you must be Isabella; I'm so excited you're here. Please come in, let me show you around." A large friendly woman of about 50, with a thick Irish accent and beautiful long dark red hair reached her hand out to Bella and enthusiastically shook it. "Liam," She called through a door and the Head Vet appeared, reaching out to shake Bella's hand as well.

"Mr and Mrs Collins" Bella began but he cut her off.

"No Mr's or Mrs here Isabella, please just call me Liam and this is Siobhan."

"Oh, OK, thanks. Liam, Siobhan, please call me Bella then. I'm so glad to be here and thank you for this opportunity." Bella shook his hand in reply.

"The pleasure is ours, Bella. With your thesis on animal husbandry, I'm amazed you chose to work with us and not at a research facility." Liam smiled proudly, as Bella blushed.

"Oh, I prefer to work with animals, not just study them." Bella stated confidently as this was most definitely the job for her.

"Well, let's get you started before you change your mind then, shall we?" Liam led Bella through the clinic.

Liam was the owner and Head Vet at Paws, Claws and Feathers. He was a wonderfully sweet man, who reminded Bella of an older and greyer version of Ewan Macgregor, accent included. Bella could tell he cared deeply for his animal patients. Siobhan was his wife and was the practice nurse. They were so welcoming, which eased Bella's nerves. As she followed them through the clinic, Bella could not help but notice that Liam and Siobhan seemed like they belonged together, one entity almost. Both had the same patient disposition – they moved seamlessly around the rooms. They certainly did not look like they were both in their fifties, more like they were in their 30's.

Siobhan greeted every patient by name as well as their owners, and Bella thought it was going to take her at least a year to remember all these names.

She was given her own consulting room and a list of patients for the day, and as Liam showed her around the practice, he implored that if she needed anything, all she had to do was ask.

Looking over her schedule for the day, she noticed that it was mainly immunisations and micro chipping. She was glad that there was nothing major on her first day, relieved actually, and the day flew by.

At lunchtime, she had an unexpected visitor.

Bella could hear loud laughter from reception and she poked her head out to see what was happening. She was surprised to see Alice laughing with Siobhan but then remembered that Alice brought her dogs here.

Alice spied Bella as she walked through the door.

"I'm stealing Bella for lunch Siobhan. You don't mind, do you?" Alice asked sincerely as Siobhan bent down to give Seth and Leah a doggy treat, both sitting patiently, tails wagging.

"Sure, Alice. Only if you bring me back a Latte."

"Done…Bells, lunch will be quick; I just want to show you the best coffee place in town." Alice kind of bounced in her place and Bella looked over to Siobhan for approval.

"You go, girls. If you are going to The Fish House, can you bring back a slice of pecan pie for Liam? It's his favourite."

"That I can do, are we going to The Fish House?" Bella asked and looked toward Alice, who nodded, Bella laughed a little as she removed her clinic coat, hanging it in her room.

Bella and Alice made their way down to an old restored seafood shop. It was squeezed between an up-market shoe store and an even more impressive clothing boutique.

Inside, dried garlic reefs hung from the roof as well as cast iron pots and pans. The counter ran along the whole length of the room and the space opened up at both the front of the café to the street as well as out to the back, to what seemed like a courtyard, with a haphazard collection of table and chair styles. Abstract paintings lined the terracotta coloured walls.

Alice waved to the man behind the counter. He had long dreads, dark skin and a toothy smile. She pushed past the tables and chairs inside, with Seth and Leah trotting beside her as if they owned the place.

Bella wondered why on earth they let the dogs in, seeing as this was a café. She stopped wondering about that as Alice moved through to the open space out back and picked a table under a weeping willow, which looked like it was growing from between the cobblestones. It was a beautiful cobbled open-air courtyard. The walls were covered in ivy.

"This place is amazing." Bella breathed, awed at what was behind the tiny café.

"Cool, isn't it?" Alice slipped the dog leads under the leg of her chair.

The man with the dreads appeared with a bowl of water for the dogs and asked what we would like to drink.

"I'll have a double shot Latte," Bella announced, not even having to think because it was what she always had.

"Laurent, I'll have the usual. Would you like to share a Mezze platter with me, Bella? It's really good here." Alice asked as she leaned back in her chair, slightly dipping to the side on the uneven cobblestones. She laughed as she moved her chair into a more stable position.

"Sounds great."

Laurent left to get our drinks and food.

"Thought I might whisk you away to my favourite coffee spot, hope you don't mind? So, how are you settling in? Aren't Siobhan and Liam nice?" Alice rattled on, all her statements running into each other.

"Yeah, they do seem nice, I love their accent. Siobhan is just gorgeous; I think I might adopt her as my mother." Bella laughed, easing back into her chair as well, this space was relaxing and Alice's smile was infectious.

"How's your new place? Did you get everything moved just right? I hate moving, it takes me at least three tries just to get the TV in the right place." Alice laughed.

"I know what you mean; luckily I don't have too much stuff, so it didn't take long. The only thing I have left to do is the backyard and, in the long run, move a few walls." Bella sighed thinking back to her mess of a backyard.

"Oh, really? I know a great landscaper." Alice enthused, she seemed to brighten further.

"You do? I really need one; I do not think anyone has touched the backyard in the last 20 years. I can't even get to the back fence." Bella shook her head.

"Yeah, it's my little brother." Alice grinned and flicked out a business card.

As she took the card, Bella imagined a male version of Alice and grinned. She imagined he would be cute, with dark hair, and short like a pixie. Bella ran her finger along the raised typing - Cullen Landscape Design. It had a phone number on the bottom.

"Thanks." Bella slipped the card into her purse.

"Bella?" Alice looked intently at Bella.

"Yeah, Alice?" Bella asked warily, knowing that the next question was going to be awkward. She could tell just looking into Alice's mischievous eyes.

"I don't mean to pry, but do you have a man in your life?" Alice kind of held her breath.

Bella laughed to herself and thought, '_I wish I had that jogging man_' but instead, she said, "yeah, sure I do… I have Jake."

"No, silly! Not a dog! A real man!"

"Ahh…nope, I don't have one of those." Bella laughed again, ironically this time.

"Hey, you should come and hang out with Jasper and I and my brother." Alice's excitement was back.

Again, Bella envisioned dating a guy shorter than herself, a boyish version of Alice, thinking that she would never be able to wear heels ever again.

"Um, I'm not ready for the blind date thing just yet, Alice…but thanks, maybe later on."

"But it wouldn't be a blind date, it's just my brother. Edwards's great, you'd love him." Alice laughed but her eyes looked pleading.

Bella laughed, "I'm sure I would Alice, but I'm good right now, ok?"

"Oh… you're no fun!" Alice pouted but then laughed. Their food arrived and Alice told Bella that she owned the stores on either side of the coffee shop, and that she practically lived on the coffee and food here.

Too soon, Bella had to get back to work, armed with a pecan pie in one hand and a large Latte in the other.

At the end of the work day, as the three of them scrubbed down, Liam thanked her again.

"Today went smoothly for you?" He asked.

Bella nodded, "You certainly have some characters that come in here, both animal and human." Liam and Siobhan both laughed. "There certainly are! Mrs Hope comes in every week to get us to check out her cats, she's a bit of an animal hypochondriac. Then, there's Frank and his gold fish."

"Why, what's wrong with the fish?" Bella asked.

"Nothing, I think he just likes coming in for a chat." Siobhan laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"So, will we see you tomorrow Bella?" Liam asked.

"Most definitely! Thank you again, I really enjoyed it today, apart from the scratch the Iguana gave me, but then that kind of hazard comes with the job." Bella laughed as she shook their hands once more. "See you tomorrow."

Bella was on a high, her body feeling like it was vibrating with good energy. She went home so happy that she had decided to move, and mused on how lucky she was.

Jake was over-ecstatic when she walked through the front door with some groceries at 6:15pm. He knocked her down, oranges rolling across the floor as he smothered her in sloppy doggy kisses. Jake kept smelling and licking at all the foreign animal smells and at one point he looked at her, confused as to why the hell she had been with so many other animals other than him today.

"Ewww Jake, I'm glad to see you, too." She pushed him off, wiping the wet off her face as she collected the escaped fruit from the grocery bag. Jake was wagging furiously beside her, his tongue hanging out. Bella smiled, it was so nice to be greeted like this.

"Want to go for a walk, boy?" she asked and Jake was straight away beside the front door.

She quickly changed into some sweats and decided to take a quick walk with Jake, seeing she had left him inside all day.

The sun had set and the evening lamps were on, illuminating the sidewalks and the path down into the park. No one was around, so she let Jake off the lead and stayed in the open grass areas, throwing a Frisbee for Jake. He was getting better at it too, catching 2 out of every 3 she threw.

It was peaceful and quiet, uncomplicated. Bella felt so relaxed. Daydreaming as she threw the Frisbee, her mind kept picturing green eyes and a crooked smile.

It was getting too dark to see so they made their way home, Jake was contented and panting from his run. After some dinner, they snuggled together on the couch, watching mindless TV, Bella drinking a glass of red wine, musing over how she could change the house layout. Bella's phone began to ring and she cringed as she saw who was on the caller ID. It was her father.

"Hi, Dad." Bella sunk back into the couch.

"Hey Bells, how's the job? You started today, didn't you?" He stated enthusiastically.

Most of her friends' fathers were usually men of few words, but not Charlie; he had the gift of the gab, a charmer. He was quite the charismatic head of police women drooled over. Bella didn't get it, especially with that moustache he had going on. However, women loved him and he loved them. Back in school, there was always chatter that Bella tried to hide from, about whom the chief of police was dating now.

"Yeah, I did. The owners are great."

"That's great to hear honey. Hey, you need to send me some pictures of the house. You know I can send Sue; she's quite the interior designer. You should see this place now; she changed your room into a walk-in wardrobe. My god, that woman has so many clothes and shoes. But I'm not complaining, she looks damn fine in them."

Bella sank further into the couch. She tried to hide the annoyance in her voice. She chanted in her head, '_at least he's settled down; at least he's settled down_'. She took a deep breath.

"Ahhh, that's nice Dad, but I think I'll be fine with interior decorating here myself.

"Suit yourself, Bella." He huffed, "you know, you have to let her in sometime. She's your stepmother now."

Bella stood up and paced across the floor, her hand shaking in anger.

"I will never think of her as my stepmother, Dad! She was my friend at school, for god's sake!" Bella sighed heavily, "I'm happy you found someone, really, I am, but I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." She hung up before he could reply. Sinking back down on the couch, she grabbed the glass of red wine downed its contents and then poured herself another one.

She laid her head on Jake, not wanting to think of her father and Sue together. Having a stepmother the same age as herself was just wrong on so many levels. Maybe she would feel differently if he had decided to date someone who had not been a close friend of hers, after the many girlfriends he had had over the years. Maybe she was being a spoilt child, but she just couldn't accept the fact that Sue was her stepmother, who had changed her childhood bedroom into a dressing room. Bella wanted to cry, but didn't want to give either her father or Sue that kind of satisfaction.

~O~O~O~

"So… anything interesting today, Edward?" Alice asked as she stirred the pot.

"Nah, nothing much. Just working on the Links project. Actually, it's coming together nicely." Edward said as he cut up some crusty bread. His mind flash-backed to the girl on the bridge and then he felt his pocket, where he had hidden his drawing of her. Those deep brown eyes, those soft pink lips.

"Hey, Edward I hear some Japanese investor is funding it. Is that true?" Jasper asked pouring some wine for everyone, startling Edward out of his thoughts.

"Um...Yeah apparently, so I get to put some Asian influence into it, I might have to do one of those sand gardens, you know? Where you rake the sand with patterns? Meant to calm the mind." Edward laughed.

"Maybe you need one in your apartment." Alice teased, but Edward swatted her. "You know Edward; we have to discuss what we are going to do about the silent partnership." Edward rolled his eyes.

"Do we have to, Alice? It's a while away yet, you know I don't really want it. Do you want to be an active partner?"

"Well, it's part of Dad's contract. It's been nearly 2 years." Alice's voice lowered, her hand slowed stirring. She looked toward her brother who fiddled with the loaf of bread and the knife.

"I know, Alice. We have a few months more before we are active members of the board." Edward threw down the knife, "I have no fucking clue about fucking media! Shit, all I know is that I watch TV and fucking read the occasional magazine. How the hell did he think we'd be capable of doing his empire justice? I don't want that fucking responsibility." Edward ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"You could always sell your half." Jasper suggested.

"What? And give that self-righteous bastard any reason to roll over in his grave and say 'I told you so'!"

"Edward, he's dead." Alice said quietly, "he'll never know."

"But I'll know and you'll know, Alice. And I know you are not about to sell your half, for exactly the same reason." Edward blew out a breath in defeat.

"Yeah." Alice took a few steps toward her brother and gave him a hug. He accepted and squeezed her back.

Edward thought back to two years prior, when their father had died from the effects of a severe heart attack. They had been able to see him before he passed. He explained what was in his will and his reasons behind the choices he'd made in his life. To both Edward and Alice, it was all too little too late, but he was family, their only close family.

Carlisle Cullen had been the head of a major multimedia company; he'd owned most of the cable/satellite TV, over half the country's newspapers and magazines. He'd also had major holdings in two movie houses. He'd built this up from his father's ownership of a few newspapers. Edward and Alice had had a privileged life in people's eyes, but in reality, it had been far from privileged.

Their Mother had died in childbirth and nannies and the help had brought up Edward and Alice. Their father had been too busy building his empire to have time for his children.

So, when he had called for them on his deathbed, they reluctantly went. It was the first time he had said '_Please_' and '_I love you_' in the same single sentence.

What he had told them shocked them, made them angry and made them sad all at the same time - a bundle of emotions in one small package.

He'd finally told them, "I loved your mother, with everything I had. She was the most wonderful person I had ever met and she wanted _me_… When she fell pregnant with twins, we were over the moon. We had everything we had ever dreamed of, but the night she died, I died too and I blamed you two. For that I am sorry." At this point Edward had wanted to scream at his father, but the man held his hand up so Edward would let him continue.

"I didn't know how to be a father. I didn't know how to control my grief over the loss of your mother...So I buried myself in work," Tears fell from his eyes, but both Edward and Alice stoically watched this exchange.

"I did this for her; this whole goddamn empire is hers. And I want you two to have it…I know you have not been a part of this and for that I am sorry, too. In my last will and testament," He began to cough and fought to regain composure. When he wiped his mouth with a tissue, blood appeared to stain it. Edward buzzed for the nurse and his father tried to continue in a raspy voice.

"I have named you both silent partners until you are 28. After that, everything is all yours. Please, I want you to have it all. Your mother's memories are sealed within everything I have done since you were born. I do love you, as much as I haven't shown you; I tried to give you…Please…" With that, the machines that were keeping him breathing erupted in wild beeping sounds.

Carlisle's demise filled Edward's head with confusion, anger, hurt and loss. Alice and Edward clung desperately together while nurses hurried around them. They were now truly on their own.

Edward tried to sleep that night.

**Hey**

_Can't sleep?_

**NOPE**

_Me either_

**Talk tomorrow**

_Yeah _

**3 U**

_Me 2_

**Edward ran his hands through his hair. He wished that he could just stop worrying, but the conversation with Alice had left him on edge. He just didn't want to worry about that kind of shit. Not now anyway. **

**He went to shut off the phone completely, knowing that he would wake in time for his morning jog anyway. He stopped, his finger hovering above the power button, as he thought of his morning jog. Smiling, he flicked through the songs on his play list, chuckling as he set his wake-up tone and then set the alarm for 6am. **

**Edward leant into the pillows on the couch and pulled the blanket over him. His mind swirling from his father's death, to Alice's injuries and then onto beautiful brown eyes.**

~O~O~O~

"You know, Alice, I think Edward needs to go back on those anti-anxiety pills," Jasper said quietly as Alice put down her phone. She rolled toward Jasper and wrapped her arms around him.

"I used to be exactly the same until I met you. He just worries, Jasper. He worries about everything."

"But he doesn't need to worry about you, I keep you safe." Jasper kissed her tenderly.

"I know you do Jazz," Alice kissed him back, "but it's a twin thing. I worry about him too, but I can sleep now I have you."

"And for that I am glad." Jasper pulled Alice closer and wrapped her up in his arms.

"You know, I think it all started at school. When that cow started fighting with me about the photos of her Mother our Dad had published in one of those trashy mags he owned. I lost a lot of blood when she smashed that bottle on me in the middle of the night at boarding school. I don't think Edward ever forgave himself. He wasn't so buff then, he was skinny and lanky. We both were picked on because of who our dad was; the pictures and stories in some of those magazines gave us more grief than anything else growing up did. It really sucked. It got better after we moved out of boarding school. Then it was just us. I used to have nightmares, so Edward and I would stay up watching movies until we both fell asleep…I just don't think Edward will ever get out of that pattern…but I hope he does." Alice sighed, trying to think of a way to help her brother. The only thing she could come up with was finding him someone.

"You think Edward will ever find someone, Jazz?"

"Quit your worrying Alice, he'll find someone in his own good time, just like us." Jasper purred in her ear and it made her shiver.

Alice smiled, "Yes, just like us."

Jasper rolled her over and ran his hand down her side, down to her thighs.

"You're so bad, Jasper Whitlock." Alice laughed quietly, enjoying the sensations across her skin.

"I know I am." He laughed and buried his head between her breasts.

~O~O~O~

As always, I would love to know your thoughts.

Can anyone guess what tune Edward selected as his alarm tone?

Aston Martin Vanquish.


	4. Chapter 4

All characters belong to SM, I just like playing with them.

Much love goes to Uk Alice, Lita, and

My Beta, Lamomo. Without them this wouldn't be worth posting.

Golden Brown is an electic song from the Stranglers you can hear it here- (just remove the spaces between the dots!)

http:/www . youtube . com/watch?v=d7R7q1lSZfs

Chapter 4

Edward woke to the sounds of The Stranglers' "Golden Brown" blaring from his phone. He grinned as he shut off the alarm, still humming the tune in his head, as he got ready to go for his jog. He was fully aware that the girl by the bridge might not be there this morning but he hoped that she would. He had no idea of what he would say to her, but he didn't care, he just wanted to see her again.

As he hit the bottom of the stairs his heart started to race, '_someone like her had surely been taken by some young unworthy punk_.' He hoped that was not the case and knew that the only way to find out was to ask her. Nerves started to creep in as he wondered why the hell he cared. He could not put his finger on the emotions going through his head, why there was such a buzzing in his chest.

As he got closer to the park his mind was in a mantra, giving himself a pep talk and trying to come up with something that would not remotely sound like a lame pick-up line.

'_Hi, how are you, I'm Edward. Pleased to meet you, would you like to go… ?' 'Hello, nice dog…I'm Edward.' 'Do you come here often?' 'Hi I'm Edward, haven't seen you around here before." 'Hi I'm Edward and you are?_'

His mind was a mess as he jogged this morning. "Oh god I'm an idiot," he mumbled to himself, realising that he was working himself into a bundle of nerves.

As he rounded the bend before the bridge, he slowed to a stop. Hidden behind some trees by the bridge, he could see the girl, skipping stones for her dog. She was wearing grey yoga pants and a pink Abercrombie hooded jacket. As she bent down to pick up a stone, he could see a slither of skin as the jacket rose slightly up her back. A strip of white lace peeked from under her pants, which were tight around her ass.

Edward groaned slightly as he watched her from this safe distance. '_Man, that girl has one nice ass,_' he thought as she stood to skip the next rock. Her dog barked and jumped in the water after the stone. The girl looked down to her watch as she bent down to get another stone. She hesitated before she picked it up and looked toward the direction from where Edward was watching. He stepped back, not wanting her to catch him watching.

"God, I've turned into such a pervert," he chided himself as he watched her stand back upright. The dog was barking furiously for her to throw the stone.

Edward took a deep breath and started to jog at a slower pace across the bridge. He watched her bring her arm back and, in one quick movement, she flicked the small stone across the water. She was counting the skips as the dog bounded in after it.

"5,6,7….10…17…22, Woo Hoo. Jake that's got to be a record!" She exclaimed, surprised and happy as she started laughing.

It was the most beautiful thing that Edward had ever heard. Everything left Edward's mind except, the sound of her laughter. She brushed a wayward lock of hair from her face and slipped it behind her ear, knocking off the hood of her jacket. The line of her neck up to her ear was exposed. Edwards's eyes followed her hand as she ran her lithe finger under her chin. She looked beautiful in the dapple sunlight of the early morning.

"Hmm, not bad," Edward said to himself as he got even closer.

"Oh!" The girl squeaked in surprise as her feet slipped on a patch of moss, catching her balance before she fell and turning around.

'_Shit, I said that out loud,_' Edward thought as he realised he had scared her. _'Now say something intelligent Edward….Hi I'm Edward….Come on brain, work, she's just another girl…_' He willed his brain to say something, anything, but his heart was racing and it felt like his mouth was filled with cotton wool.

Bella started blushing as she calmed down from the initial shock of hearing a man's voice. Her heart was still racing. It was her jogging man; his voice was like smooth silk, covering her from head to toe. She wanted him to say something else.

'_Say something Bella_,' she willed herself, but the only thing that came to mind was _'can I take you home with me_.' She willed herself not to say that, anything but that. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she gazed at the jogger, '_God he's even better than I remembered_.'

Today he had a little more stubble than the day before, which accentuated his strong jawline. God, he looked so manly and all Bella could think of was that she desperately wanted to take off that hood. His eyes were like emeralds, so intense in the morning light.

They stood watching each other, both as nervous as the other. Jake, who started barking at Bella for another stone to be thrown, broke the spell.

A smile crept up onto Edward's lips as he realised he had been staring; he almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation he had put himself into. The Girl frowned a little as she muttered something to her dog. '_Ok, now I really have to say something_,' Edward willed his mind back to reality.

"That was a great skim…I'll have to challenge you, um…have a good day." Edward smiled as he tried to cover his remorse for such a lame attempt at conversation. Embarrassed, he turned and waved as he jogged off.

Bella went to reply, but his smile caught her off guard, she couldn't seem to move her eyes away as he spoke, his grin pulled up on one side. A little embarrassed, she averted her eyes slightly as he waved and moved along the track, her eyes following him. Jake barked and she was once again back to reality. She picked up another rock and skimmed it for Jake.

Edward berated himself for his own lameness and for the inexplicable nervousness he felt around the girl by the bridge. He could picture her perfectly in his mind, even more beautiful than the day before, the deep blush rising in her cheeks, her perfectly smooth skin, the line of her jaw, her nose, and her lips. Her silken hair, her tight ass.

Edward had to rearrange himself; just the thought of her went straight to his groin.

What was it about this girl? He wondered, was it because he could not have her? Was it her obvious nervousness? Why was he so nervous around her? Why did he want to touch her? Frustrated, Edward made his way home with questions swirling around his head.

Edward entered his apartment; two little dogs scurried at his feet. Alice was there. Edward bent down and patted both dogs at the same time, knowing that Leah would be pissed if he did not pat her first, even if Edward did like Seth a whole bunch more than narky Leah. Edward mused that these two dogs really were an odd couple, looking up surprised that Alice was frying some eggs.

"Hey little sis, what are you doing here this early?" Edward planted a big kiss on her forehead.

"Eww, Edward you're dripping sweat all over me," Alice pushed him away and laughed. "Jasper had to fly out this morning. He has to go audit some company that's gone bankrupt. He should be back in two days."

"So I got my little sis to keep company, hey?" Edward said, pulling off his hoodie.

"You sure do…and you DO know that I am 2 minutes OLDER than you Edward! So respect your elders…and go have a shower, your hair is all mussed up and sweaty. Your eggs will be ready in a minute."

"Yes, Mom," Edward drawled as he ruffled her hair. He made his way to his room, stripping off his clothes and tossing them in the basket.

He returned clean and in some old ripped jeans, drying his hair with a fluffy white towel.

"Smells great, Alice," Edward sat at the kitchen bench, looking over to his sister who was eating already. She was staring at him as she chewed and he could see the mischievous grin lighting up her eyes. "What are you up to, little Sis?" He asked knowing that she was up to something.

"Nothing. How about buying yourself new jeans, Edward? Those are practically falling off your hips, let alone the fact that they are falling apart at the seams." Alice grinned, as Edward rolled his eyes.

"Alice, 'nothing' never applies to you. Now spit it. And I like these jeans." It was Alice's turn to roll her eyes at her brother.

"Well…I was wondering…" Alice dawdled, knowing exactly what her brother's reaction would be. She knew it was a long shot, but if she could get Edward to meet Bella, she just knew that they would hit it off. Even if Bella was not interested yet, maybe, just _maybe_ she could get him interested.

"Spit it, Alice!" Edward growled playfully.

"Well… there's this girl… Bella."

"No blind dates, munchkin. You know I don't do that kind of stuff, especially after the last time… Really, Alice! What were you thinking? That Angela chick was a psychotic!"

"But Edward! Bella is really nice, down to earth, you'd like her. _I_ like her." Alice implored, "And it wouldn't be a date… we could all go to the bar…play pool or something. No pressure, I just want you to meet her."

"No way Alice…No, no and nope. Not doing it." Edward laughed at his sister as she started to pout. "Not going to happen, Alice."

"Awww…. come on, Edward! What if she just happens to show up there, then? That's not a date." Alice tried a different tactic, hoping for a small window of opportunity.

"Whoever this poor girl is, leave her alone. I am not going out with anyone who is desperate enough to go out on a blind date. End of story." Edward stabbed an egg and waved it at Alice, as if he was about to fling it at her.

"Don't you dare, Edward Cullen! She doesn't want to do it, either." Alice put her arm out to shield herself from the egg, just in case Edward decided to fling it.

"Well, there you go, Alice. Leave us both out of your schemes," Edward placed the egg in his mouth and chewed with his mouth open, just to gross Alice out. It worked.

"That's bad, Edward, close your mouth when you chew…Ewww," She swatted him with a dishtowel.

"Yes, Mom." Edward mumbled, his mouth still full of food.

'_Now_' Edward thought as he chewed, '_if Alice could set him up with a date with the girl by the_ _bridge_ _he would definitely go_'. However, given this morning's performance, he would not know what the hell to say to her.

Edward pushed back from the kitchen bench, rinsed his plate and placed it in the dishwasher.

"I got to get to work, I'll see you tonight. Hey, want me to grab some movies?" Edward asked Alice.

"Yeah, sure. Movie night sounds great. Later, Edward."

He pulled on an old t-shirt and headed to work, where he'd have to help on one of the job sites today.

Bella was feeling a little subdued on her way to work, musing over what it was about the jogging man that made her go speechless, apart from the fact that she wanted to take off his top and run her hands through his hair… Well, she could imagine running her hands though his hair.

She thought that this was what it must be like to have a crush, but…. at her age? The guy probably had a girlfriend, but he did not have a wife. She had noticed that he had no ring on his finger.

Bella wondered what his name was. "Mike, Eric, Bob? No… can't be Bob…Robert maybe?" She mused, as she pulled up at work. She fumbled with her bag and keys; she could not think straight, her mind was back by the bridge, with the jogging man who was still telling her she had awesome skimming skills. She kicked herself that she did not reply, but her brain would not make the connection to her vocal chords.

"Bet he thinks I'm a loser," she mumbled to herself, "maybe if he weren't so god damn beautiful, my body might be able to function properly."

When she got her schedule off Siobhan, she was glad to find out that her day was full.

Bella was amused at the owners of her first patient of the day, which was a very pregnant cat, a fluffy white Chinchilla that was so far gone that she could hardly walk? Bella found it funny that she had to tell the owners, Aro and Alec, that the cat was pregnant. They'd had no idea. Aro and Alec were a wonderful gay couple who, after being told of the pregnancy, were beside themselves with happiness because they were going to be grandparents.

Bella explained that they needed to give the cat – 'Princess' – a secluded private place to be able to give birth, somewhere like under a bed in a dark room. They seemed a little shocked at the suggestion. Happiness turned to fear for their precious cat. Bella could see that maybe some comforting was in order as Alec began to freak out that the cat would be in pain.

Bella shook her head, trying not to laugh, and told them that birth was quite natural for cats but, if Princess was in pain, that they could bring her into the clinic or give her a call so she could do a check-up. Bella could tell that Princess would have her kittens by the next morning, somewhere far away from prying eyes. Scribbling her cell number on a card, she handed it to Aro, who was a little less panic stricken than his partner.

Alice popped by to see if Bella could have lunch, but Bella ducked out just to get a coffee as she was running a little behind. The coffee at the Fish House was exactly what she needed. The steaming warm mug and the velvety texture was a relief.

"So… what are you up to this weekend, Bella?" Alice asked as they sat out at the back of the coffee shop.

"Tackling the garden." Bella answered with a reluctant sigh, because that was precisely the last thing she wanted to do.

"Have you called Edward? He could get it done in a day," Alice said cheerfully.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, I'll ring when I get back to work," Bella thought that it would be nice to meet Alice's brother in a professional setting rather than on a 'date'.

Alice was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "So… this weekend anything on?"

"Nope, nothing in the calendar."

"Oh good! Saturday night…Come to the Bar and have a game of pool, whacha think?"

"Sounds good, Alice. It would be nice to get out and about." Bella sipped on her coffee, "this isn't a set up with your brother, is it Alice?"

"No, no way!" Alice looked sheepish, "He might be there… but it's no blind date. It's just a game of pool and some drinks… I promise ok." She smiled wide.

"Yeah, ok then." Bella grinned. She was actually looking forward to get out, this was her turn to be free.

"Hey, Edward and I are having a movie night tonight, you want to come over? You can bring Jake, we're dog friendly." She bent down to give Seth and Leah a pat.

"Maybe not tonight, but sounds like fun, what are you watching?" Bella asked, interested in what kind of movies Alice and her brother liked to watch. Bella envisioned Alice liking things like Sex and the City and her brother would probably like Die Hard or something, but she was surprised at what Alice said.

"Anything by Kubrick or Tarantino, but we like watching the classics too. I wouldn't be surprised if Edward brought home A Clockwork Orange or Kill Bill or even The Last Tango in Paris…I love Brando."

"Really? I love those flicks! I think I might come over on one of your movie nights…just… not tonight."

"Oh, that would be great! Yeah, it _is _a bit of short notice for tonight, but consider yourself invited for our next one." Alice said excitedly.

"Yeah, count me in on that one." Bella stood to leave, placing some money on the table.

"I got to run, but these coffees are on me. Hey, give me a call." Bella wrote down her number on a napkin. Alice did the same and they swapped numbers.

Bella was still grinning as she returned to finish off for the day. She was liking Alice more and more with each meeting, she felt a connection with her and it felt so nice to have a real friend in this new city. Bella mused that she might even be able to talk to her about the jogging man, and maybe ask for some advice. Bella felt all tingly all of a sudden as she thought about him. Yes, she might need some advice on this one.

Bella pulled out the business card and ran her finger over the raised type. All that was on the card was the name 'CLD' in elegant lettering and a phone number. Bella tentatively dialled the number, fully expecting Alice's brother to answer, but on the other end of the phone was a very professional sounding woman. Bella booked an appointment for someone to consult her on her garden and give her a quote. The woman said that they were fairly booked out, but that they could squeeze her in next Friday at 3pm. She gave her name and address as well as her contact number.

Hanging up, Bella sighed and thought that maybe she should have dropped Alice's name, then they might be able to come to assess her garden sooner. "Oh well, too late now."

Again, Jake accosted Bella when she got home. Changing into sweats, they went to the park and played Frisbee for a while. On her last throw, Jake was about to catch the Frisbee when a dog bounded over to him and caught the Frisbee instead. Jake was shocked and then went straight for the Frisbee.

"Oh no," Bella said as she ran to stop the fight she thought was about to start, knowing that Jake was pretty territorial about his stuff, no matter the size of the dog.

Getting closer, Bella realised that a poodle had the Frisbee, with its pom poms and all. It was also prancing quite casually in front of Jake, the Frisbee dangling from its mouth.

Jake was a little bewildered at this dog that looked quite happy and wanted to play, but didn't look like a real dog. Even Bella had to stifle a giggle at the fancy bows and dyed pink pom poms on this dog.

"Emily!"

Bella heard a rough male voice and looked toward the direction it had come from, feeling a little worried. A huge man called up from the path, with another fancy poodle on a lead beside him. This man was the size of a house and she swore he must live at the gym. His shirt didn't even fit his chest and biceps as the fabric was pulled taut against his muscles. In his hand was a diamante lead which was attached to another poodle, complete with pom pom and bows, this one in blue. It was such a mismatch, a bulky buff guy with two refined manicured poodles.

"Emily, naughty girl!" He said, as Emily was obviously the one with the Frisbee in her mouth. She just wagged, quite content and not particularly wanting to go to her owner.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Emily got away." He said in a baritone voice, smiling, which put Bella at ease, even though this guy had a buzz cut, and looked like he was fresh out of the army.

"Oh, it's no problem; she's fine." Bella shyly replied as she picked up Emily's diamante lead, which was dragging on the ground. She handed it to the man, and then gently pulled the Frisbee from poodle's mouth.

In any other circumstance, this guy would be scary but, with two poodles by his side, he hardly seemed harmful at all.

"Oh, thanks! Rose would have killed me if I lost her. Oh, I'm Emmett and these are Emily and Sam." He put his hand out for Bella to shake and she did, finding his hand warm and soft, while she expected that a man like him would have rough calloused hands.

"I'm Bella and this is Jake." She introduced herself.

"Cool dog, I had something like him growing up. Not like these two, I swear they think they are human and my girlfriend Rose treats them as if they are, too. They run the house," he laughed lightly.

"Poodles are pretty smart dogs," Bella says as she threw the Frisbee for Jake, who bounded after it while Emmett's dogs strained at their leads. "Why don't you let them off? And then they can play."

"God, Rose would have a heart attack if she knew I was going to do that! But hey, 30 minutes of being real dogs can't hurt them." Emmett struggled as he let the puffed up poodles off their leads.

Bella thought how ridiculous it was that this burly man was walking his girlfriend's pimped poodles, '_he must be under the thumb_,' Bella mused.

Emily and Sam bounded off after Jake, being dogs as they should be. Bella found Emmett quite amusing as they spent the next 30 minutes in the park together, chatting casually. She told him that she was new in town and that she worked at Paws, Claws and Feathers. Emmett was surprised, because that was just where Rose took Emily and Sam. He added that Rose would be so happy he had met her.

Emmett told Bella that he was a personal trainer and she found that hardly surprising, given his body mass and bulging muscles. He was engaged to Rose, who was a lawyer and away on business a lot of the time.

"She thinks she is a bit of a hairdresser," Emmett motioned toward the dogs.

"She did that herself? She's pretty good." Bella said, actually quite impressed with the pom pom and bows, "Nice dye job, too."

"She did this, too." Emmett said, motioning to the lack of hair on his head.

"For real? …Um… that's good, too." Bella held back a laugh because Emmett's girlfriend had gone pretty savage on his head. There was not much left

"Yeah, she thought she'd done a good job on the dogs and then started on me. You can't really say no to her," he grimaced and laughed, "Thank god hair grows back! It's usually dark and curly".

Bella laughed, totally at ease with him, as he seemed really nice and laid back. Bella wished that she felt the same with the jogging man, but he just made her feel something quite different. There was no tingle with Emmett, it was just like chatting to an old friend.

Emmett looked at his watch and jumped. "Shit! I gotta go, Rose is expecting me back home in five…got to run! Nice meeting you, Bella. Hey, we all go for drinks on Saturday night at the bar on the corner of 4th and 6th avenue. You should come…seeing as you're new to town, Rose will be there and so will the rest of the crew." Emmett whistled, bringing his dogs to heel.

"Sounds great, but I have plans this weekend." Bella said as she whistled for Jake, who came back bounding with Emily and Sam. They seemed to have become fast friends.

"Oh… that's too bad, maybe the weekend after?' Emmett sounded genuinely disappointed as he re-latched his dogs. "I gotta run, see you around Bella." With that, he turned and jogged off toward the car park.

Bella waved after him, thankful that she had met another nice person in her first week here.

"If only I could feel at ease like that with jogging man," Bella sighed as she threw the Frisbee a few more times for Jake. She smiled as it was really starting to feel like '_home_.'

She started to make her way home, and noticed that up ahead Jake had decided to do his business in the middle of the path. Bella was mortified, looking around, glad that no one was watching.

Bending down with disgust, she pulled out a 'doggy do bag'. Jake looked very sheepish. She heard a growl rumble in his throat as she went to pick up the bag.

"Jake, what's your problem?" She asked, standing up, as she tied the bag into a knot.

"I think it might be me." said that silky masculine voice. She looked up to find the jogging man, with Jake growling in front of him. Bella felt the heat rise in her cheeks, her heat started to pound as she held the bag in one hand and grabbed Jake's collar in the other. Her stomach also began to feel a little nauseous.

"I'm so sorry." Bella said, crouched holding Jake's collar. Jake was staring at the man, a low growl still emanating from his chest.

"No problem. He's a nice looking dog." The jogging man said, hesitating a second, almost about to say something else, but then he grinned, turned around and jogged on down the path.

"God, Jake, what is your problem?" Bella scolded him.

She was ready to go home now, and wanted to shrink and hide under the covers. Mortified that Jake had growled again at the jogging man, as well as doing his business right there in the middle of the path.

She thought that the only thing she had ever said to the jogging man were apologies for her dog, not even a 'hi' or a 'hello'. Her brain just seemed not to function any time he was near. Not to mention that she was holding her dog's poo in a little black bag. The thought made her queasy again.

She replayed his comments to her, hearing his silken voice in her head and wishing she did not feel so embarrassed. She wished she could hear him say her name.

Edward jogged down the path thinking that the dog belonging to the girl by the bridge had every right to growl at him. It was as if he could sense the inappropriate nature of Edwards's thoughts, and by rights, he should not be thinking of what the girl would look like with less clothes on.

He was surprised to see her at the park, totally not expecting to see her during his evening jog. He'd recognised her dog first and then had searched for her, his heart racing as he took in her form. She was casually dressed in sweats again, her hair hanging loose this time. If she had had a bikini on, her hair would have skimmed her nipples. Edward envisioned this as he jogged closer, and that was when her dog started growling, throwing him a little as he realised exactly what he was thinking.

She apologised again for her dog, her blush shading her cheeks. Edward willed himself to say something. Anything. He looked down at the growling shaggy dog, not wanting her to feel bad about the dog protecting her.

"No problem. He's a nice looking dog."

Edward could sense her awkwardness; she looked beautiful in the evening light. The shadows and lights highlighting her features, she was a beautiful sculpture. Edward stopped himself as he wanted to run his fingers along her jaw line and down her neck. He wanted to say something else but '_you're beautiful' _almost came out and he caught himself on time. Grinning at her, he decided to cut and run before he said something stupid, seeing as he had a lack of brain function.

Edward jogged back home for his evening with Alice, his mind filled again with the girl by the bridge. He wanted to draw her in the evening light.

Bella curled up on the couch with Jake, with a book and a glass of Sav Blanc. She had re read the last page about four times when she decided to give up. Her mind was consumed with the Jogging Man, imagining him sitting on the couch with her, while she took off his shirt and ran her hands over his body, kissing his soft lips, nibbling on his neck. Bella groaned, it was starting to frustrate her. She decided then that she was just going to put him out of her mind. Next time she'd see him, she would treat him just as if he was Emmett or Alice or a client at work.

She was glad to be interrupted by her cell ringing with a frantic phone call about Princess the cat, who had just given birth to 6 kittens.

"Bella, Princess had 6 kittens and she's eating the yucky stuff!" Aro was frantic on the other end. "The sheets have blood all over them, what do I do with them? That can't be right, can it?"

Bella laughed lightly, amused that he was worried about the sheets.

"Calm down Aro, that is perfectly normal. Now, you may as well throw them out or better still, let the cat and kittens have them. Is Princess ok?" Bella asked still laughing.

"Princess is ok, but she is now carrying them through the house!" Aro was sounding more frantic, Bella could hear Alec in the background sounding even more panicked than Aro, "She's got another one…she's taking it to…Oh My God, she's on my pillow…ARO!"

Bella tried not to laugh. "Put all the kittens and cat in a dark room, closed off from the rest of the house until Princess settles. Bring them all in on tomorrow morning for a check-up, she will be fine."

Aro seemed happy with that and decided that the cat was going into the spare room closet, while Alec kept squealing in the background.

Bella hung up and laughed hard, hugging Jake. She thought that work tomorrow was going to be interesting.

Edward tried not to think of the girl by the bridge as he and Alice made themselves comfortable in the living room. The curtains were open so they could both watch the twinkling of the city lights.

Playing on the oversized flat-screen was the second film of the night - 2001 A Space Odyssey. On the coffee table was a half-eaten big bowl of popcorn and two bottles of Bud.

"Like old times, hey little sis?" Edward laughed a little as Alice started to get sleepy. He was pleased that Alice could fall asleep with ease now. Jasper was so good for her.

"Yeah, it is, except I'm sleepy," Alice yawned and stretched a little, pushing Seth off the couch to give herself more space.

"How did you know Jasper was the one?" Edward asked, as his mind mulled over the fact that Alice could now sleep with ease, the trauma of their past seemingly eased.

Alice sat up a little and took in her brother, she was a little surprised at the change in conversation. He had never asked her this before. She looked at him intensely, trying to figure out what was going on in his brain. Maybe he was ready to have someone in his life now.

"I just knew, as soon as I looked at him, it was just it. I don't know…I just wanted him, I wanted to hear his voice, it was like gravity shifted and he was all I could think of." Alice trailed off, thinking about how Jasper felt in her arms.

"Hmmm…" Edward wondered just slightly if the girl by the bridge might be his 'one'.

"Why are you asking?" Alice probed.

"Just wondering," Edward deflected.

"You know, it would do you good to have someone in your life…even if it's a dog," Alice laughed as Seth and Leah tried to climb up on the couch again.

"I know, you keep telling me that!" Edward replied, and then he wished he had not said anything, because now all he could think of was the girl.

Alice yawned, knowing that she could not push her brother on this one.

Edward, however, had an idea forming in his brain. He smiled slyly and wanted to hug his sister.

~O~O~O~

What is Edward thinking?

Hoped you like the "Golden Brown" song by the Stranglers

http(:)/www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=d7R7q1lSZfs

just remove the hyphens.

Love to know what you think.

Thank you for reading.

Aston Martin Vanquish.

AMV

BTW I'm Reading Business Class Girl By Lamomo

http(:)/www(.)fanfiction(.)net/s/6166947/1/


	5. Chapter 5

As always, SM owns all thing twilight, I just like to play with them.

I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing.

Hugs and Love go to UK Alice, La Lita

And Beta Extraordinaire Lamomo

Chapter 5

Edward's mind sparked as he watched his sister with her dogs. She was lazily petting them as she drifted off to sleep. Seth had snuck up and curled himself into her chest and Leah walked in circles to find a comfortable position by her feet.

His minded churned with the ridiculous possibility that if he had a dog, then he would have something in common with the girl by the bridge, thus deflecting his nervous tendencies around her. Yes, they could become friends by default thanks to the dogs. Edward laughed quietly at himself, knowing that this was by far the most extreme measure he was ever going to undertake, just so he could talk to a girl.

He must be going mad.

Edward grinned and knew that there was the distinct possibility that the plan could backfire, but at least he would have something to call his own, something that belonged to him that was living and breathing. Something to chat to during the endless nights. He wondered why he had not thought of that before.

Alice fell into a deep sleep and looked so peaceful, curled up with her dogs on the couch. Edward slipped out of the room to get his laptop, returning with it to the living room.

"Right, where do I start?" he murmured, trying not to wake his sister. He knew he should do this somewhere else but it was so nice to have someone here, he mused, quietly tapping away.

"What kind of dog would I want?" he asked himself, going through a mental list of what he wanted and what he did not.

"Fur… well, no… but a dog that does not shed." He looked at his nice leather lounges.

"Hmm, something medium in height." He did not want anything too big nor too small, nothing that would look like a rat anyway.

"Smart. I want a smart dog, but friendly. Something that might guard my truck, too." Edward kept tapping away and realised that there were so many breeds that he had no idea where to start.

He thought about the dogs he knew. Well, there were Seth and Leah, but they shed, Alice was always complaining of having to brush fur off the couch. Nope. Then there were Emmett's dogs. Now, they were smart but he could not stand the way Rose did their fur, too puffy. Riley from work had a Kelpie, he was great but Riley had a house with a yard for it to run around in.

Edward scrolled though the pages, getting more confused as he went. Frustrated, he shut down the laptop. He got up and watched the city and the now slow flow of traffic from his windows and he wondered what all those people were doing. Were they aimlessly driving because they could not sleep? Were they heading home to people that loved them? Were they just running away?

Edward sighed and decided that his quest for the girl by the bridge was fruitless. He started feeling like all those people below, aimlessly drifting to a place to go. She was probably curled up in the arms of another man at this moment. She deserved it. He didn't.

Edward put on another movie, choosing something a little left of field - American Beauty. He watched vaguely, musing over the impetus toward the American middle class and the notions of beauty, desire, personal satisfaction and materialism. He fell asleep thinking that he needed more meaning in his life. He dreamt of the girl by the bridge surrounded only by rose petals.

He woke that morning before his alarm, still a little uncomfortable from last night's dream. He quietly got changed, not wanting to wake Alice and, especially, not wanting her to see his 'morning glory'. With determination, he decided that he wouldn't even try to talk to the girl by the bridge. He was in no mood to contend with his mind nor with the confusion that she instilled within him .

However, as he jogged, all he could think of was her. As he got closer to the park, his body forced him towards her. He needed to know if she was there today.

As he rounded that bend near the bridge, his body felt lighter. He could feel every muscle burning in and that was how he knew she was there. Edward tried to maintain his pace as he jogged, willing himself not to stop, but it seemed that he had no control over it. He slowed as he crossed the bridge, watching out for her. It was if he was being drawn to her with every pulse of his heart. He struggled to maintain his will, but could not stop the smile that spread across his face as he saw her acknowledge him. He nodded and amazingly said, "Good morning" before continuing.

"I'm getting that dog." Edward stated to himself as he made his way home. It was the only way to defuse the pull this girl has on him. It was the only way he could see to engage her without losing his control. He needed a medium, something that would cool down his incessant nervousness.

As soon as Bella and Jake got to the park, their routine began and Jake had to re-mark everything. Bella sleepily greeted the passers-by and started recognising their dogs. There was Daisy the Labrador, George the Alsatian and Frank the Beagle. She had no idea what the owners' names were, because she simply hadn't asked. A little further down the path were Dolly and Doogal. They were so cute, with their little silky crosses and their owner looked like she was at least 90.

Bella waited by the bridge, hoping that she would catch at least a glimpse of the Jogging Man. She was aware of the time and could feel the minutes tick by. Jake grew agitated by her lack of concentration on their game.

She could hear his footfalls upon the bridge first, and told herself that he was just another person, just like any client or friend, but her heart raced as she heard him come closer, his steps slowing. She silently hoped that he would stop and talk, but knew that if he did, she would be stuck in that moment of awkwardness that she could not get out of.

Her heart raced as she quite definitely heard him say, "Good Morning." He smiled that heartbreaking smile of his and jogged on.

Bella wanted to kick something, anything as she realised she had blown the chance to talk to him. Again. '_God I could have at least said Good morning!_' She picked up a large rock and threw it with all her might into the creek, sending waves over the embankment and over herself. She cursed as she realized that her chance to speak with him was over.

This was how her week went. Every morning the Jogger went by, he would smile and say "Good morning" as he jogged past. Bella managed to reply with a "Good morning", too, but she desperately wished he would stop and talk to her. Even if she did not know what she would say if he did, she really wanted to hear his voice. He was the highlight of her day. She knew it was crazy to be so obsessed. She could not even understand why it meant so much that he would talk to her.

'_Nope, just seeing him is enough._' She told herself. '_He is probably jogging home to his girlfriend._'

However, she still dreamt of the Jogging Man and wondered where he lived, what he did for a living, what he did on his weekends.

"I can have that," She told Jake, "I'm a free woman that can think and do whatever she wants." She tried to convince herself. Bella sighed and thought that, if she could be happy just watching the Jogging Man and dream of what she really wanted, then all was good. However, at the back of her mind, she thought of him with someone else and that just made her want to cringe.

"Jake, I really got to get out more!" Bella stated to herself, and Jake barked as if to agree with her statement. Bella ruffled his fur as they rounded the bend. '_He can just be my mystery Jogging Man._' Bella laughed at herself, thinking that this newfound freedom of being on her own was sending her on a little mind trip.

Siobhan and Liam asked Bella if she would mind doing some treatment at the local animal and wildlife shelter. They explained that they often were called out to do routine surgery on injured animals, or immunise the mistreated animals that were brought in before the got adopted out. Bella was more than happy to go.

It was quite a drive to the outskirts of the city and Bella got frustrated with the traffic, but as the houses started to dwindle and the forest started to creep in, she felt peace wash over her, the air seemed fresher and she could even hear the birds sing. Everything was green, with so many different shades of green and brown.

Driving down a gravel lane lined with pines, she pulled up to two large buildings. They were both timber log structures with high roofs, both had verandas out front and, peeking behind the second building, was a huge gable barn.

The first building had a hand painted sign. Y.A.P.S - Young Animal Protection Society. The second building was signed Wildlife Rescue.

'_Right, well that's where I'd better go,_' Bella told herself as she stepped out of her car. The air hit her first - it was brisk and smelled of fresh pine and earth. Bella took in a big breath and held it there, not wanting the sense of being with nature escape her. She could hear some young puppies barking and a horse baying nearby. She assumed the dogs would be in the building while the horse would be in the barn. Bella opened the back of the car and pulled out her vet bag, which held everything she would need.

As she made her way to the second building, a voice called her from behind and Bella swung around, a little startled.

"I'm sorry, I'm Kate. You must be Bella?" The woman said. Bella nodded. The woman had honey-coloured hair and was smiling, her skin tanned from spending time out in the sun. She wore jeans and a simple top.

"Yes I'm Bella, I'm the new…" Bella went to explain who she was but Kate cut her off.

"Yes, Liam and Siobhan told me all about you. Please, follow me. I was hoping you could give some immunisations to a litter of pups and their mom. We have just rescued them. The mother is in pretty bad shape. Poor thing, we found her in a cage, she could not even move. Goddamn puppy farms, some people need a bullet to their heads." Kate said passionately.

"How many dogs did you rescue?" Bella asked, as she knew these puppy farms would have more than one breeding adult. Mothers were often locked in cages, to be let out only when they mated.

"12. 5 are pregnant, just 1 with pups, thank God. The owners are being charged with animal cruelty as we speak." Kate shook her head and led Bella through the building.

"Oh Jesus!" Bella exclaimed as Kate brought her into the clinic. The room was full of makeshift pens and large cages, each containing dirty dreadlocked, malnourished dogs, most hiding in the corners of their enclosures, whimpering.

"We are treating all of these guys. It might take us a while to get them ready to be adopted out, but thank God we got them out of that hellhole. Come with me."

Bella fought her desire to check up on each and every one of those dogs. It made her physically ill to see any animal in that kind of distress, it reminded her of how she'd first seen Jake. She followed Kate to the next room. Bella took a deep breath, readying herself.

Inside a pen, there were five fluffy puppies all rolling around each other and their mother was in the corner. She was Cocker spaniel, and she was skin and bones, but had all her fur trimmed. Bella entered the enclosure and slowly, quietly approached the mother. It shied away instantly and Bella murmured words of encouragement, so it would let her examine her.

"We are treating all the adults with antibiotics, trimming their fur, and slowly introducing solid meals to their diet." Kate informed her.

"I'll have to give them all booster shots. Any show signs of Kennel cough?" Bella asked as she examined the mother, "I'll give you some cream to put on her nipples, It looks like one may have a growth, hopefully not a malignant tumour, but she needs to put on some more weight before we can operate."

"No kennel cough that we have noticed, which is quite amazing."

"That's good. How was the mother when you trimmed her?"

"Scared, but she was too weak to struggle."

"I'll give you some low dose sedatives so you can do the others." Bella said as she moved to check the puppies.

"They must be doing designer dogs, these guys look half poodle." She said as she picked up the first pup. It was sandy in colour and wriggling like a little pig. Bella hushed it as she felt its stomach, checked its ears and teeth, then went on to the next one. "These guys are surprisingly healthy; I suspect they are coming onto 7-8 weeks old. Are they eating solids?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, they sure are. They just need their shots and they should be ready to be adopted out."

Bella laughed lightly as she looked over the puppies. They were so fluffy, rolling around the floor. She gave them each their immunisations and made her way to the other dogs, trying not to get too emotional at the state they were in. Each got a shot and a full check-up.

Finishing up, she could tell that the dogs were in the best possible place as she saw that Kate's assistants were trimming the dogs, feeding and medicating them.

Bella shook Kate's hand as she made her way to her car, "Please, if you need anything, call me. I don't care if it's the middle of the night." Bella handed Kate her card, which also had her cell number on it.

"Will do, Bella. Thanks for coming out. I'll call when the mother is fit enough to get that growth removed." Kate smiled and thanked her again.

That night, Bella would not let Jake from her side and she hugged him hard, glad that he had been rescued.

When Edward arrived home from his jog, he asked Alice where she had bought Seth and Leah. Puzzled, she replied that she'd got them from Y.A.P.S.

"Why are you asking me that, Edward?"

"Well, you are always telling me that I NEED SOMEONE, I thought I might as well get a dog. At least it can fetch my slippers or guard my truck." Edward replied tartly, not ever wanting Alice to know the real reason he wanted a dog. She would never let him live that down.

"Oh, really? Seth and Leah will have a play buddy!" Alice said excitedly. Edward breathed a sigh of relief, '_Phew, no twenty million questions_.'

"Can I help you choose? What kind of dog do you want?" She asked again, her enthusiasm growing.

"Um, sure you can Alice. I was thinking this Saturday," Edward smiled, thinking that his plan was working well so far.

"Oooh, goody. So, do you want to get one from Y.A.P.S or a pet store? Or you can even buy them online, nowadays." Alice was practically jumping out of her skin.

"I'm not buying a dog online! Geez, what don't they sell on there! Hey - what is YAPS, anyway?"

"It's a rescue centre for animals, I'm so glad I got Seth and Leah from there, I'd hate to think where they would have ended up otherwise." Alice reached down and patted her dogs as they sat there, intently lavishing up all her attention.

"But aren't they dogs that no one wants?" Edward asked, provoking his sister. She covered Leah's ears.

"Edward, how could you say that!" then turned to the dogs. "Don't you guys listen to him, he doesn't know what he's talking about." They wagged their tails and Leah looked at Edward as if in disgust.

Edward shook his head; it was almost as if Leah understood what Alice was saying.

He held his hands up, "Ok, ok. You're the Queen of all things doggy, so Saturday you can take me shopping, how does that sound?" Edward stepped back awaiting Alice's reaction, it was not every day Edward would ask her to take him shopping.

She threw herself at him, wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"Can we go clothes shopping for you after that?" She asked.

"No, just dog shopping, no human shopping…baby steps, Alice." He warned her, Alice just laughed.

Each morning as he jogged past the girl by the bridge, it got easier and easier to say "good morning."

She was the highlight of his day; he could see the way her eyes would light up as he ran past her. Her dog did not even mind him so much now, but Edward attributed that to his willpower not to think of her naked as he jogged past.

Edward could not wait for Saturday. Maybe then they could walk their dogs together. That was harmless enough. He found himself praying that she did not have a boyfriend, and then wondered about his obsession with the girl by the bridge - his journal was now filled with images of her. '_Surely this will all end in disaster. Forever the masochist_,' he scolded himself.

It was finally Saturday morning and Edward was pumped up, waiting for Alice to arrive.

'_Come on, Alice! where the hell are you?_' She was never late and he thought about rapping on her door. He grabbed his keys and wallet and, as he opened the door, there was a squeal of surprise.

"Shit, Edward! You scared me!" Alice laughed, as she stood there, with her hand extended ready to open the door.

"You should have known I was coming, don't you have me on extended radar or something?" Edward ruffled her hair.

"Not the hair, Edward!" Alice chided, threading her arm through his and dragging him to the lift, "We're going shopping."

Edward usually hated shopping, but this time he was eager to get his plan into action. Unfortunately, that entailed shopping.

They pulled up in front of Y.A.P.S and Alice directed him up the few stairs to the front door. Edward breathed in the fresh pine-scented air and admired how well built the log buildings were.

A woman called Kate greeted them, she smiled encouragingly at Edward and reached out to shake his hand, which he did. She did not seem to want to let go of his hand, though. Edward smiled politely as he managed to get his hand away.

Alice was talking a million miles an hour and Edward was relieved that she seemed to have everything under control. She'd already filled out his forms, as well as put a holding deposit on one of the puppies. Edward wanted to ask her when shed' done all that but then decided against it.

Kate brought them into the viewing room, which looked to Edward like a pre-school for dogs. There were pillows and dog toys everywhere. In the middle of this all, there were five fluffy puppies wrestling on the pillows. One was black, one was black and white, one was brown and the last two were caramel-coloured.

Alice was down on her knees in a heartbeat. "Aren't they the cutest, Edward?"

Edward was suddenly struck with the realisation that he was about to become responsible for a real living creature, and it rather freaked him out. Alice pulled him down to the floor with her.

"What kind of dogs are they?" Edward asked to no one in particular. Kate answered.

"We think they are Cockapoos or Spoodles."

"Cocka-what?" Edward turned to her in disbelief.

"Cocker Spaniels crossed with Poodles. They are a good-natured breed, smart, very family-oriented, they love a swim, but the best thing is… they don't shed." Kate replied.

Edward turned to his sister and whispered, "You want me to get a Cockapoo? What kind of name is that, Alice!"

"A cute one. You can still call it a Spoodle if you have issues. It's just a dog, Edward!" Alice whispered back. Edward rolled his eyes, wanting to strangle his sister. He looked at the puppies - one was making its way to him. It was a caramel ball of fluff and he couldn't help but reach out and pat it.

It gently bit his finger and then licked it. Edward moved his hand away but the puppy followed his movement, chasing Edward's hand. It tried to swipe at it but tripped over itself, rolling onto its back with its legs in the air. Edward rubbed its tummy and smiled, it was even softer than it looked.

The puppy managed to get back upright and bounded toward Edward's lap, it dived and burrowed between his legs until all you could see was its tail.

"I think you have a new friend, Edward." Alice laughed as she picked up a black one.

"Is this one a boy or a girl?" Edward asked Kate.

"Oh, she's a girl. Both caramels are girls, the rest are boys."

Edward had not even though about the sex of the dog, but his mind flickered back, remembering the name of the girl by the bridge's dog, and she had called him Jake.

"I'll take a girl, this one." He said as he gently picked up the puppy from between his legs, holding her out to look into her eyes. They were as black as night, staring right back at him. Her tail wagged happily. "Yep, I'll take this one."

Alice hugged the puppy in her hands, "I think I want to take one home too, but Jasper would kill me, and so would Leah!" She laughed. Alice placed the black puppy back with its siblings and stood up to leave.

"Come on then, Edward. We need to get a few more things before we go home."

Edward cradled the puppy in his arms and signed what was left of the paperwork. Kate gave him a few sheets of information on how to care for the puppy and its immunisation schedule, as well as the phone numbers and addresses of the local Vets.

Alice held the puppy in her arms while Edward drove, while throwing sidelong glances to this new life he was going to take care of. He wondered for a second what the hell he thought he was doing. It felt like he barely had hold of his own life.

"So, what are you going to call her? Oooh, I know! Fluff! She's so fluffy I just want to snuggle her all day." Alice giggled as the puppy licked her face.

"I have no idea, Fluffy is not a proper name for a dog that will come to work with me." Edward said and then groaned, as he thought of the looks he would get when he went jogging or to work with a fluff ball that was a Cockapoo!

"What? Fluff is cute and she is adorable. Aren't you, little missy?" Alice crooned at the puppy. "Hey, Edward, we have to take the next right!" Alice exclaimed as she looked up from the dog.

"Why, where are we going now?"

"We have to get stuff for the dog, Edward. Food, a bed, toys…you know, dog stuff. Yes, we have to get Fluff some toys to play with. I bet you'd like a teddy bear, wouldn't you?" Alice said, cooing at the dog again.

"She's a dog, Alice, not a child," Edward laughed at his sister, who was already smitten with the puppy.

"Turn here, Edward," Alice said excitedly as she pointed to a large building, painted with dog and cat paws. The sign above read 'Pet Café'.

"Pet Café?" Edward asked, thinking that was a weird name for a shop.

"Yeah, it has the best stuff. Come on, let's go!" Alice was excited and jumped out of the truck as soon as he pulled up. As Edward caught up to her, she handed the puppy back to Edward and grabbed a shopping trolley. He was about to ask why they would need a trolley when a basket would do, but as they entered the shop he realised just why Alice would want a trolley.

This was no shop - this was a warehouse-sized, pet-store heaven. Edward had never seen so much animal food, toys bedding, clothes, treats, shampoos all in one place. "Oh, my god," Edward breathed as he watched Alice scoot to the bedding section. This was like Wal-Mart for Dogs.

By the time Alice had finished, they ended up with two trolleys. Edward had almost no veto power over his sister, so her let her go crazy. "You, my girl, are one spoiled pooch," He said to the dog who was now fast asleep in his arms. Edward did veto the diamanté leash and collar, stating that it would be pointless because no one would see the diamanté's under the puppy's fur anyway. Alice agreed, and of course, the lead had to match the collar, so she went for the purple soft leather one instead.

By the end of the trip home and three trips back down to the truck to bring all the 'shopping' up, Edward was glad to take stock of what he had gotten himself into. In front of him was one very small puppy and one huge pile of dog things.

"Alice, I really think we went a little overboard," He said as he unwrapped a chewy thing that was meant to contain dog treats. "I mean… really Alice, does she need this?" Edward picked up what looked like a woollen jacket, "She has kind of got her own woolly coat!" Edward laughed.

"But it is so cute, and she won't get cold!" Alice pouted, then laughed, "Yeah, I suppose I didn't have to buy that….Hey I'm going to get Seth and Leah, see how they get along."

"Do you think that's a good idea? She's little, really little," Edward reply and picked up the puppy. She felt so soft in his hands that he couldn't help but rub her against his cheek.

"Awww you know Edward, there's a bit of a softy in you, yet," Alice grinned and left to get her dogs.

"What are you doing to me, you little monster?" He almost cooed to the puppy, he couldn't help but think that she was adorable, so little, so fluffy. "I think I'll call you Nessie," he mused as he really thought that she was some strange being he'd have to look after.

Alice returned and Seth immediately took to Nessie, Leah however had other ideas and took to guarding Alice from the intruding dog. Alice sighed in defeat, as Leah would not move from her side.

"I think Leah is a little put out that another female is in the house, I was hoping to leave them at mine while we go out to the Bar." Alice said sadly.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen. Maybe Nessie will be OK on her own." Edward said thoughtfully, realising his sister's disappointment.

"Nessie, did you just call her Nessie?" Alice asked surprised.

"Yeah, like she's a fluffy monster from the deep, come to turn my life upside-down," Edward laughed and Alice rolled her eyes.

"I still think you should call her Fluffy." Alice pouted.

"Alice, there is no way I am going to work and telling everyone I have a dog called Fluffy. It's Nessie, my monster pup from the deep."

"Yeah, she's such a monster!" Alice laughed sarcastically as she watched Seth and Nessie play. "Anyway, Edward I'm getting ready to go out. I'll be back in an hour, we have to beat Emmett and Rose at pool!"

"Sure thing Alice, I'll just…I don't know…What am I meant to do now?" Edward asked, not quite sure what to do with the dog.

"Play with her, feed her, make her feel like she is at home. Pretend you are a dog!" Alice laughed hard as she left.

Edward was left alone for the first time with Nessie.

Edward shuffled around with Nessie at his feet. He unpacked her bed, her food, her toys, her stuff, half of which he had no idea what to do with. He thought the first thing was that she might need to go to the toilet, so he made his way to the elevator. Edward found himself chatting to Nessie.

"Now, little girl, we are going outside for you to do your…err... business," Edward said to the dog but felt a little strange, as if he was talking to himself. She wagged her tail in reply, making him smile.

"You are quite cute, young lady. Now, you have a job I need you to do. Tomorrow we are going to the park, there's a really nice girl I want you to meet." Edward chuckled to himself, thinking that, if Alice's reaction was any indication, this puppy might just be the thing he needed.

She did 'her business' outside and Edward was pleased that he might have got something right. Returning, Edward got ready to go out. Nessie was playing with the toilet paper roll as he showered.

She managed to unroll the whole thing and it was now covering the bathroom floor. Stepping out of the steamy shower, he was shocked to see so much mess. Nessie licked the water off his leg and waited to be picked up.

He picked up the paper mess on the floor and scooped Ness up, placing her beside the bed as he found some clothes. Just like that, Nessie found a clean sock and decided to wrestle that.

Alice opened the door and shouted to Edward that she was ready to go, just as Edward was putting some food in Nessie's dish. As he made it to the door to leave, she started whining so he went back in and moved her bed closer to the front door and settled her back down. She seemed to like that but, as he closed the door, she whined again and scratched on the door. Edward decided to ignore her and made his way to the elevator when a piercing cry came out of the apartment. Edward looked at his sister and shrugged uneasily.

"Maybe you should stay." Alice said sadly, as the cries grew louder and more frantic.

"I can't leave her alone on her first night without her brothers and sisters." Edward sighed. Nessie's cries were heart-wrenching, he thought as he reluctantly made his way back to the apartment. When he opened the door, he was greeted with licks and excited tail wags. "Sorry" he mouthed to Alice.

Alice smiled, happy to see Edward's blooming affection for his new dog, '_Yes, there is hope for Edward yet,_' she thought.

"No worries Edward, I'll forgive you tonight. You go stay with Nessie." Alice laughed a little as she made her way to the elevator. "I'm on my mobile if you need me."

"Yeah, thanks Alice. Tell Emmett I'll kick his arse next time, I'm already 1 up." Edward replied sarcastically and then laughed as the puppy licked his face. "Yep, just tell him I've got a woman up here, he'll understand!"

"Men!" Alice stated as she entered the elevator.

As Alice made her way downstairs and sent a text to Bella with the address of the bar. Alice felt a little lonely without having Edward or Jasper with her. It felt like she was missing something, that she was leaving something behind. She almost turned around and headed back to the apartment to spend the night with Edward and Nessie.

She wandered slowly down the street and thought about the turnaround in Edward over the past week. Usually she could read him like a book, she knew his thoughts, his feelings, but for him to want to bring something like a dog in his life was completely out of character. Usually, he was a solitary soul, shunning people who wanted to become close to him. There were only a certain few who had managed to breach the shell he had created around himself.

She had been much like him until Jasper came into her life, and Alice thought about how both Edward and she had been defensive and aloof when it came to letting anyone into their inner circle. They never needed anyone one else, they never wanted anyone else. They had each other.

When she had been attacked at school, it had only intensified their bond, and her unwillingness to let anyone get close. Sure, they had friends and as popularity went at school, they had an incessant pool of people who wanted to be around them, but they still seemed to be the elusive untouchable twins, and people were drawn to that. However, it just brought them closer.

So, for Edward to let something to live with him, even if It was a dog, was an amazing event in Alice's eyes.

Alice entered the bar and was immediately embraced by Rose and Emmett.

Rose was one of the few that had managed to infiltrate Edward and Alice's sanctum at school - one of the few they'd allowed into their lives in a personal way. Much like them, she had been sent to boarding school in an attempt to get her out of the way of her parents' lives. Even though they were light-years apart in personality, they had shared the lack of parental affection, which had instilled a flippant disregard of people and emotions.

Rose was stunning. She looked like her socialite mother with her blonde hair, legs that went on forever, stunningly beautiful blue eyes, but she had her father's brains, who ran the country's most prestigious law firm, 'Hale & Associates'. Her way of thwarting her parents' wishes after leaving university had been to start dating Emmett. Her parents had officially cut her off, seeing as she would not date the more affluent young men desired in her parents' circles.

"Hey, Alice, where's your bro?" Emmett asked.

"Oh, he's with another woman tonight, Em." Alice laughed as she ordered a drink.

"What, you're kidding!" Rose quipped, incredulous.

"Yeah, her name is Nessie, and she's about this big." Alice held her hands out to the size of a small plate.

"WHAT?" Emmett exclaimed.

"He bought a dog, can you believe it?" Alice laughed.

"NO SHIT!" Rose and Emmett replied together. They laughed together and it made Alice miss Jasper more. It was one of those random moments when you thought the same thing and just blurted it out.

"Yep, just today. She is gorgeous. So… Edward is out for the count tonight, but I have invited someone new, so we'll still be able to duel over the pool table."

At that moment, as if on cue, Bella walked into the bar and Alice gave her a hug.

"Hey Bella, so glad you could come."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, I really need a drink…" Bella turned to the bar and ordered a Vodka and Cranberry.

"Bella!" Emmett exclaimed, "Rose, this is Bella from the park."

Bella turned and indeed, it was Emmett, he was the last person she had expected to see. Emmett pulled a beautiful woman forward, she was stunning, and Bella felt a little drab standing beside her.

"You Know Bella?" Alice asked surprised.

"Sure do, Emily stole Jake's Frisbee," Emmett laughed, "Bella this is my Rose, Rose this is Bella."

"Hi Bella nice to meet you, I hope Emmett's been behaving himself, not giving you too much grief," Rose poked Emmett in the ribs.

"Hey, I'm always on my best behaviour, let me buy you a drink Bella. I hope you can play pool," he smirked at Rose and mouthed '_See_.'

The next morning, Bella woke with a little headache, she thought that maybe it was from the drinks she had had the night before.

Jake was wagging beside her on the bed, waiting for his morning walk. Bella groaned and rolled over hiding her head under the pillow.

She had had so much fun with Alice last night. She was really surprised to see Emmett with his fiancée Rose. They had hit it off immediately and Bella could see the incredible bond that Emmett and Rose shared. Between Emmett's smart-arse witty remarks, with Rose retorting, putting him in place. The main thing Bella had noticed was that they could not look away from each other – they shared countless stolen glances, their hands caressing. It was almost as though they moved as one.

They had played countless games of pool, and Bella was glad she knew how to sink a ball. She did wonder where Alice's brother was but made no mention of him, she was glad to feel so at ease and made feel welcome.

Jake insistently nudged her pillow, making Bella move and push herself up from the warmth of her bed.

"OK, alright already!" Bella moaned as she reluctantly changed out of her pyjamas. "Damn it, Jake! It's Sunday, you know, God's day of rest," Bella said as she found the keys and locked up the house. Walking down the road, she thought that the only reason to get out of bed this early on a Sunday could be if the Jogging Man was going to be there.

Bella wished that the Jogging Mancould have been at the bar last night, as Bella had been a little put off by the advances of Mike the barman. He was nice enough and slipped her quite a few free drinks, but all night she just wished he were her Jogger. She realised that she was setting herself up for disaster if she kept thinking of him, especially seeing as she had not been brave enough to actually talk to the man.

The park was empty, the only sounds were her wet footsteps on the dewy ground and a few early morning bird calls filling the air. It was peaceful, but it was chilly this morning as Bella hugged her arms around her body, steam rising from her breaths. The quiet stillness was quite beautiful and in the silence, the babbling of the creek seamed louder than it had on any other morning. It seemed to call out to Jake and Bella found it a struggle to keep up with him.

He was waiting patiently on the bank, and Bella looked down at her watch and sighed to herself.

"Five minutes Jake, if he's coming we have five minutes," Bella leaned down and picked up a stone. It was perfectly round, smooth, grey with a line of quartz running through it. Bella wondered how old this stone was, how long it had sat there before she picked it up and threw it, giving it a new home.

Bella heard his footfalls on the bridge and her heart started to race. He was walking and, as he came closer, Bella sneaked a glance in his direction, curious as to why he was only walking this morning. Her breath caught as he reached the end of the bridge, her heart melting. He had a lead in his hand and attached to it, she saw a fluffy caramel-coloured puppy, much like the puppies she'd immunised at Y.A.P.S. Her body moved of its own accord as she stepped closer to the Jogger, bent down and patted the puppy. Without even realising it, the words just tumbled out of her mouth.

"She's gorgeous, what's its name?" The puppy's fur was soft to the touch, much like down.

"This is Nessie," He replied. His voice threw her for a loop and Bella's heart raced as she realised she was about to have a conversation with the Jogging Man. Jogging Man bent down to the puppy's level and Bella thought her heart was about to stop beating altogether.

"Um…What is she?" Bella asked, even though she had a pretty good idea, because she did not want this to end, not yet anyway.

Jogging Man laughed lightly, "Um…Err a Cockapoo…Spoodle; I got her from a shelter. They said she looks like she might have some Cocker Spaniel and Poodle..." He said and Bella caught a hint of nerves in his voice. She looked up at him and took a breath, his eyes looked a little nervous too. Bella tried not to stare at his beautiful face, stopping her desire to pull off his hoodie.

Jake was by her side and he too was taken with this little dog. He was so gentle with her as he smelled her and gave her a lick. His tail started wagging and the little dog wanted to play.

"She'll be ok if I take her off her lead?" Jogging Man asked, unsure.

"Jake seems to like her, it's always good to let your dog socialise early in life," Bella replied, strangely turning into her vet persona. It seemed easier for her to separate her desire to touch the Jogger this way.

"Oh, ok, she's my first dog," he said as a smile formed on his lips, making his eyes crinkle at the corners. It made Bella smile, and the butterflies were back.

"Oh well, you are going to have a friend for life," Bella laughed. He went to unhitch Nessie's lead and she jumped up, licking his face and dislodging his hoodie.

Bella almost gasped. She was not sure what she was expecting. His hair was all messed up and shaggy, brown with hints of bronze reflected in the light. She fully took in his face and noticed that he had defined cheekbones and a perfectly chiselled jaw. He ran his hand through his hair to push it back from falling into his eyes.

'_My god, he is beautiful_,' thought Bella.

Bella found herself wondering what the rest of him looked like out of his running sweats, and she tried to focus back on the little fluffy dog.

"Well, she is cute. I couldn't resist her when I went to the shelter," he laughed as he picked her up to give her a cuddle, rubbing his face into her fur.

'_Oh, he is gorgeous.'_ Bella could have melted, watching him have this tender moment with his dog.

Jake went to jump up so he could smell the puppy and Bella was brought out of her musings. She grabbed onto his collar before he could knock Jogging Manover.

"Jake, stop it." Bella said as she pulled him away.

"Oh, it's ok," he said as he put Nessie down. She was excited and ran in circles around Jake. Jake was enthralled and played gently with her.

He ran his hand through his hair again as he stood up and all Bella could think of was that she really wanted to do that as well.

At that moment, Bella thought she might be in lust with Jogger and she giggled at the thought. Jogging Man looked strangely at her as he wondered what she was laughing at, and hoped she was not laughing at him.

"Um…I was just heading back, do you want to walk with us?" Bella asked.

"Yeah sure," he smiled and stuffed his hands into his pockets, along with the lead.

Edward could have high-fived Nessie, but he kept his emotions to himself as he watched the two dogs play in front of them. This couldn't have gone any better. Just being close to this girl made his body tingle, he had to put his hands in his pockets to stop himself from reaching out and touching her hair. Her giggle was delightful and he wanted to hear it again, her laugh reached her eyes and lit them up. He wondered what she was laughing about.

They moved away from the bridge. Jake and Nessie were bounding around each other, Nessie doing her best to trip Jake up by running underneath him. There were gentle nips and bites going on between them, as they seemed to roll along the pathway.

Edward thought about what to say next, and he was kicking himself that his brain cells were not cooperating. There seemed to be a bit of an awkward silence for a moment, when they both spoke at once. They laughed and told the other "You go first", making them both laugh awkwardly again.

Bella decided to just go with it and briefly wondered where this bravery had come from, as her hands were shaking a little and her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest.

"Hey, if you need her micro-chipped, bring her into work. I'm the new vet at Paws, Claws and Feathers." She offered.

"A microchip, what's that?" He asked, a little confused.

"Oh, it's an identity chip, so if you dog or cat or whatever runs away they can locate the owner. It just has the owner's name, address and phone number."

"Oh, Ok, well I'd better do that. Don't want little missy to get lost," he laughed.

"So, how long have you had her?" Bella asked, knowing that it must have been in the last day or so as he definitely did not have a dog yesterday.

"I picked her up yesterday," he smiled again. Bella figured she could look at him smiling forever. She loved the way his eyes shone and crinkled at the corners when he did, just showing the white of his teeth between his lips. Bella laughed gently at herself for her musings.

"Well, you're in for some fun," She said, covering up her laugh, as she really could not see him enjoy picking up the little doggy doo's throughout his house until she was trained.

Edward hesitated a little, realising that they had reached the path that he usually took to go home. He tossed up whether to keep walking with her, but then decided that this was a really good start and that he should not push his luck.

"Um...Well, this is my exit. Might see you soon for the microchip thingy and she is due for some booster shots too. or so says the schedule the shelter gave me." He said, as he scooped up Nessie. "See you later." He smiled, or rather, grinned as he waved goodbye, thinking that tomorrow he would be making an appointment for a microchip for Nessie.

"Cool, that would be great," Bella smiled as she waved and watched him walk away with the little dog cradled in his arms.

She went to call Jake but realised that he was waiting beside her, looking quite content. She bent down and ruffled is fur.

"Well, that went ok." She said, then realised that she did not ask him what his name was, and cursed herself for not asking. '_God, he_ _is going to be Jogging Man until I ask him._ _Well, there is_ _always next time,'_ and she smiled as she realised that she might see him at work, too.

Bella floated home, thinking about him and his cute puppy. The rest of the day floated by too. She was still happy that she had gotten to speak with him and see him with his hoodie down.

She could not wait for spring to see him running in shorts.

~O~O~O~

Love to know your thoughts.

So Edward is still Jogging Man to Bella. And Bella is still the Girl by the bridge! LOL

Let's see if we can remedy that in the next chapter. *Rubs hands together*

Thanks for reading.

Aston Martin Vanquish


	6. Chapter 6

All characters belong to SM, I just like playing with them.

Much love goes to Uk Alice, pre reader extraordinaire.

My Beta, Lamomo. Without them, this wouldn't be worth posting.

Chapter 6

Bella woke the next morning with a throbbing headache. She was determined to get up and take Jake for his morning walk. Her disjointed dreams that night were filled with images of The Jogging Man and his fluffy puppy. He had kissed her and she could still feel his lips against hers. She desperately wanted to see him and ask him his name.

As she went to stand up, her head spun wildly and she had to sit back down. Her head pounded as she went to stand again, but every muscle in her body ached and she groaned as the pressure in her head made it hard to see. Making her way to the bathroom, she fumbled through the medicine cabinet to find some cold and flu meds.

She winced as she gulped down two tablets, drinking out of the faucet to rid her mouth of the acidic aftertaste. Jake whined a little at the door, waiting impatiently for her to take him for a walk.

"I don't think it's going to happen today, Buddy." She told him, shaking her head, which made it pound harder. Bella slowly made her way through the house and opened the back door.

"This is it for you today, sorry Jake." Bella hung onto the doorframe as her body swayed as her head felt like it was spinning. "I got to sit down," Bella mumbled as she staggered to the living room and fell onto the couch. With her head whirling, she fell asleep.

Edward was woken by sloppy licks. He was a little startled, and as he sat up, he knocked Nessie off the couch. She yelped a little as she hit the floor.

"Oh shit, sorry Nessie," Edward said as he fumbled to pick her up off the floor. The room was in darkness, except for the glow of the TV flickering. "God, Ness, what time is it?" Edward looked out the window, noticing that the sun hadn't even begun to light the morning sky. Standing, he stretched then reached down to pick up his mobile phone.

"Shit, Ness it's 5 am, 'spose you need to do your business, hey?" Sleepily, Edward slipped on a shirt and sweat pants and made his way downstairs with Ness cradled in his arms. The brisk chill of the morning air woke Edward instantly and he hopped foot to foot, reminding himself to put shoes on if he was going to go outside this early.

"Hurry up Ness, I'm freezing here. My toes are going to drop off." He watched as Nessie sniffed the terrain and was relieved when she had finally done her business. Scooping her up, he hurried inside and was glad when his feet hit the carpet.

"Well, we have an hour or so to kill before we go for our walk. Hey Ness, you think you can learn to sleep in?" He ruffled her fur as he entered the apartment, pouring out some dog biscuits for her to munch on.

Edward opened up his laptop and synchronised his Black Berry with his appointments for the week. He memorised his appointments' dates, the clients' names and addresses. Edward sighed as he opened up the files for the Resort Development. It had been pushed back a week, due to the builders. This usually meant that, if they said he could start on the landscaping in a week, he'd generally start in two.

That left Edward's calendar relatively empty, with just some consultations, and for those he hoped the clients would a little adventurous, he was in the mood to think a little outside the box. He had come across some great hybrid plants, which were quite spectacular when in flower.

Sighing, he went over his calendar one more time before shutting off the laptop. He spun around in his chair, "Well, little missy, we have some time to kill before you work your magic for me this morning." Nessie wagged and padded over to him when she heard her name. "You are a cutie, you know that?"

A little while later, Edward decided that he couldn't wait any longer, he slipped on his Nikes and leashed Nessie. He figured he could leave a little early as there was no way Nessie could keep up with his jogging pace. It was going to have to be a walk today, unless he jogged whilst carrying Nessie.

As they made their way to the park, Edward started to get a little nervous. The stillness of the morning, that usually calmed him, wasn't working its charm today. He didn't want to mess this up.

"_Hey, how are you? I'm Edward." _He kept rehearsing in his mind. He could see her beautiful smile and he desperately wanted to know her name. _What if she wasn't there? What if she didn't want to speak to him? What if…_ Yesterday she'd been the one who asked him to walk with her but that did nothing to ease his nerves.

As he rounded the last curve to the bridge, he paused briefly and took a deep breath and pushed his nerves aside, knowing that it was now or never. He unleashed Nessie and whispered, "Ready to work your magic, Ness?" Nessie wagged and ran in the direction of the bridge.

"Wait up, Ness!" Edward exclaimed as she ran out of his sight. He jogged after her, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit! Nessie, Nessie!" Edward called as he made his way to the bridge. Nessie was nowhere to be seen and neither was the Girl by the Bridge. Edward grew a little frantic as he called and searched the surrounding bush.

"I can't even look after a little puppy!" he scolded himself as he searched. "NESSIE!"

Some bushes moved to his right and a scampering of paws and a playful bark erupted from the undergrowth. A flurry of fur and leaves almost rolled out of the bushes.

"Nessie, you scared me…Jake?" Edward sighed in relief, as he watched the russet-coloured dog and Nessie play. He looked around to see if the Girl by the Bridge was anywhere near, but had no such luck.

"Where's your Mom, fella?" Edward asked as he looked about the forest, a strange sense of foreboding washing over him. Edward's heart sunk as he searched for the girl, with the dogs following closely behind him.

"Oh my god, I hope nothing has happened to her." His heart was racing and his stomach churned at the thought that The Girl by the Bridge could have been abducted. There was no sight of her. He scooped up Nessie and jogged to the start of the boardwalk, hoping that someone there might have seen her.

His heart fell as he saw that the park was nearly empty. Placing Nessie back on the pathway, he ruffled Jake's fur.

"Where's your Mom, boy?" as Edward patted him, he realised that there was a tag attached to the dog's collar. Relief washed over him. Kneeling down, he read the inscription, that only included Jake's name and a mobile telephone number.

Edward pulled out his phone and dialled the number, hoping desperately that the girl answered the phone. The phone clicked through to the message service.

"_Hi, you've reached Bella's phone. Sorry I can't answer at the moment, but if you leave a message I'll get back to you as soon as I can."_

As he heard her voice, his heart raced with conflicted emotions, the thrill brought about by the musical lilt of her voice saying her name, and the disappointment that she didn't answer swirled around his mind, almost making him miss his cue to leave a message.

"Ah, hi. I found Jake at the park, oh and I'm Edward, give me a call." Edward hung up and cursed himself as he realised that he didn't leave his number for her to call him back. As he redialled her number he decided to send her a text instead.

Entering a short message, Edward tried to figure out what to do with the dog and wondered if he should call the police about the missing girl. Deciding against that, he tried to think of what else he could do.

"The Vet!" He exclaimed as he recalled the conversation they had yesterday, "Paws Claws and Feathers." Edward leashed Jake with Nessie's lead and he scooped up Nessie, starting to jog back home.

Getting back to his apartment block almost took what felt like an eternity. Entering the car park, he made his way to his car then wondered if he should put Jake in the back tray or up the front with him and Nessie.

"Aw, stuff it." Edward mumbled as he opened the passenger door, placing Nessie on the seat and letting Jake up in, surprised that he didn't need any encouragement.

"So Jake, your Mom is Bella, hey?" He said as he started the truck, and mused that Bella was a perfect name for his Girl By the Bridge. "She is definitely beautiful."

Pulling up outside the vet clinic, he hoped that Bella would be there, he prayed that she was there, and that Jake had just escaped from the backyard.

The little bell chimed as Edward entered Paws, Claws and Feathers with Jake and Nessie.

"Hi there, I can I help you?" an older woman with a mane of red hair asked him in a thick Irish accent.

'_Please let her be here,' _Edward thought as he pushed his nerves down.

"Ah yeah, I'm looking for Bella. I found her dog down at the park this morning. I was hoping she was in."

"Actually, Bella was meant to start work about half an hour ago, let me give her a call." The lady smiled and picked up the phone at the front counter.

Edward's heart raced, hoping she would answer her home phone. Relief flooded him as the lady started to speak with her.

"Hi, Bella…You sound terrible…No…No, you stay home…No, stay home and have some vitamin C…Oh Bella, I have a young man here with Jake…Yes, it's definitely Jake…Jake's fine…wait a sec." The lady put her hand over the receiver and asked Edward, "Can you drop him off? Bella sounds really sick and won't be coming into work… That is, if you don't mind…otherwise, he can stay here and I'll drop him off at the end of the day."

Edward nodded, "Sure, I can do that."

The lady uncovered the receiver, "Bella, he's going to drop Jake off…No, you stay in bed…Vitamin C and lots of sleep OK?…take tomorrow off, too…No buts…You take care. Bye, Bella."

"Thank you so much, young man, Bella thinks he escaped this morning from the backyard. I'm Siobhan, by the way," The lady extended her hand to Edward.

"I'm Edward, nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Siobhan smiled wide as she wrote down an address on a business card. "Bella would have been devastated if she lost Jake, thank you for looking after him, a lot of people wouldn't even think of it."

"Um, it's the least I could do," he said as Siobhan handed him the card and he slipped it in his pocket.

"Thanks again, Edward," Siobhan called as Edward made his way back out to his truck.

Edward got the dogs into the cabin of the truck and he pulled out the card. The address seemed really familiar and, as he started up the truck, he realised why. Pulling out his Blackberry, he opened up his calendar and scrolled through his upcoming appointments.

_Bella Swan_.

Edward smiled and laughed to himself. He ruffled Nessie's fur, "Well, looks as if I would have met her anyway. Now…just one more stop, before I take you home, Jake."

Bella hung up the phone and eased herself up off the couch. As the blood flowed, her head pounded under the pressure. Shuffling to the back door, she cursed as she looked out over the disaster of her back yard.

'_There must be a hole in the fence there somewhere,' _She thought as she looked over to where the back fence should be, hidden from view by a tangle of vines and weeds.

Closing the door she made her way to her bathroom to freshen up, and wondered who found Jake.

"Must be Emmett," She mused, figuring that he was the only man who knew both Jake and herself. After looking at her reflection in the mirror, she decided to jump in the shower. The water was refreshing but did nothing to stop the fog and pressure in her head. Feeling too crappy, she slipped into some comfortable cotton pants and a Snoopy T-shirt two sizes too big for her. Slipping her feet into her Sylvester the Cat slippers, she mused that Sylvester's nose was about as red as her own at the moment. Grabbing a brush, she tried to comb the knots out of her wet hair. The doorbell chimed and she yelled "just a minute," but it ended up in her coughing and having to blow her nose. She had to hold onto the wall to get her equilibrium back as her head spun.

'_Just great, I can't even freakin' stand straight.' _Bella slowly makes her way to the front door.

Bella hung onto the door handle as she opened it, hoping that it would keep her upright. She looked up and the sunlight made her wince. She had to do a double take, as she couldn't believe who was standing before her. Her hand slipped on the handle and, instead of opening the door wider, she slammed the door closed.

'_Shit, shit, shit,'_ her heart was beating wildly as she tried to get over the shock. She fumbled with the door handle as a dog scratched on the door.

Taking a breath, she composed herself and opened the door again.

"Ah, sorry, my hand slipped. I, um, didn't mean to slam the door." She stammered as she looked into Jogging Man's eyes. He was smiling at her and running his hand through his hair.

"I think you lost something," he said as he let Jake go. Jake bounded and jumped up on Bella, knocking her into the house. She landed with a thud on her backside and Jake was instantly on top of her, licking her all over her face.

Bella's head spun wildly as she tried to push Jake off herself, "Ew, Jake stop it."

"I'm so sorry, shit, are you OK?" Jogging Man said as he tried to help her up. With her head spinning and fuzzy, she let Jogging Man help her up. His hand felt so strong in hers, his arm around her waist so warm, made her legs feel like jelly.

"I'm OK, Jogging Man, Jake's just…" Bella stopped mid-sentence, realising what she had just called him. She wanted to crawl back into bed, '_Oh my god! I just called him Jogging Man.'_

The man looked at her curiously and, with a big grin gracing his face, he continued to help her up.

"I ah, I um…Thanks, Sorry, head's not working properly." Bella tapped her head and felt the heat rise on her cheeks as she stepped away from him. He was utterly beautiful.

"Well, 'Jogging Man' says you're welcome." He laughed lightly, "I'm Edward, and you must be Bella, otherwise known to Jogging Man as the Girl by the Bridge."

Bella laughed nervously, "Oh, well Edward is much better than Jogging Man… God, I can't believe I called you that to your face… Ah, thanks for bringing Jake home…" Bella started to sway as her head began to swim with dizziness. She clung to the doorjamb to keep herself upright.

"Are you Ok?" Edward asked, as she tried to stop the feeling of the room spinning around her. She nodded, which made her head throb more.

"I just need to sit down." She said as she let go of the doorjamb. She took a step back into the house. "Would you like to come in?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady. As she took another step, her legs folded underneath her and the house spun, she waited for the pain as she hit the floor but it didn't come. Strong arms caught her, picked her up and carried her inside. Placing her on the couch, he gently lay her down.

"Thank you," She whispered. _'My knight in running sweats.'_

Edward looked down at The Girl By the Bridge. She hardly weighed anything in his arms. Her face had turned pale and a light sheen of sweat covered her forehead. He wondered what he should do now.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked.

"I'll be ok in a minute, my head hurts," She said quietly, "I hope you've had your flu shots, I don't want to get you sick." She laughed lightly then cringed; the laughter obviously making her head hurt more.

Edward laughed, "Here you are, dying, and you are worried that I might get sick… Now, where is your medicine cabinet? I'll get you some Tylenol or something…And yes, I have had my flu shots."

"Um…in my bathroom, through to the right, but really don't trouble yourself, I'll be ok in a minute."

Edward rolled his eyes. He went to the front door and picked up the package he'd brought, he made sure the door was closed properly and then went for the bathroom. He was nearly tripped up by Nessie and Jake as they played Tug-O-War with a teddy bear. He found the bathroom and searched the cabinet, trying not to pry into her belongings, and closed the cabinet as soon as he found the cold and flu tablets, he brought out the Tylenol as well.

He looked around the room. One toothbrush, one razor, lots of perfume and, hanging off the towel rack…

'_Holy mother in heaven!'_ Exclaimed Edward to himself, as he spotted a delicate red lace bra. Edward quickly exited the bathroom, trying not to think of her wearing it.

Her house was simple, with furnishings on the minimal side, and he realised that it looked like there was just one person living here. There was no sign of any male belongings and this made Edward hopeful.

"Here, Bella. I'll get you some water, where is the kitchen?" Edward asked as he placed the tablets on the coffee table.

"It's ok Edward, I can get it," she said as went to sit up.

"No, you stay there. I don't want you to faint."

Bella sighed and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. She wondered whether she should really let loose in her house someone she didn't know. As she tried to reason with herself that Edward was a stranger, she couldn't really believe it, as he had been at the forefront of all her thoughts and dreams lately. She actually mused that this could all be a dream and when she would wake up he wouldn't be here at all. As she heard him rummage in her kitchen, she thought that it would be extremely nice to have him here all the time. _'Baby steps, Bella.'_

Edward placed his little package on the counter and started opening cupboards. First, he needed a bowl. The tableware in Bella's kitchen was eclectic. Nothing matched, but somehow each piece tied in together. Edward chose an Asian-inspired bowl and poured the contents of his little package into it. He placed it in the microwave and started it up. Next, he looked around for some bread. He couldn't find any.

"Ok, no bread," he murmured to himself as he opened a drawer to find a spoon. As he expected, none of the cutlery matched either. He looked around the kitchen once again, just in case he'd missed the bread. His eyes settled on a photograph. It was of Bella and an older man in a police uniform. Looking closer, he could see a resemblance there and he realised that this man must be her father. Edward could not pry his eyes away from hers. Though she was smiling, there was a wistful sadness there and he wondered what it was that made her sad. Lying next to the framed photograph he saw another - this one was of a woman, dressed as a hippie flower child. Standing next to her was a young girl with long dark hair falling down to her waist, with a chain of daisies on her head like a crown. Edward looked closer. It was Bella. She must have been about thirteen. He smiled to himself; seeing that her mother looked like a hippie while her dad was a cop - now _that_ was a mismatch. Edward laughed lightly at this little insight into the Girl by the Bridge.

Pouring some water into a tall glass, he carried the steaming soup and water back in to the living room.

"Here you go." He said as he placed them in front of her.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," she said as she looked at the bowl of chicken soup, a blush rising in her cheeks.

"Siobhan said you were sick so I just…Um it always makes me feel a little better…" Edward's words trailed off as he realised that he was being very presumptuous bringing her soup. He didn't really even know her, even though he saw her every day. He nervously hid his hands into his pockets and was about to apologise.

"No, it's very kind. Thank you." Bella said as she could see the nervousness in his eyes. She took some Tylenol and sipped the water. "The soup smells divine," she said as she took a sip of the soup.

"I'll have a look at your backyard while you eat," Edward said, fidgeting, unsure of what to say next. It sounded easier to get on with business than to make awkward conversation.

"Why would you want to look at my backyard?" She asked, quite confused.

"Didn't you call for someone to landscape your backyard?"

"Yeah, I did… the business card is here somewhere…God, where is it? Alice gave it to me." Bella said as she searched the coffee table.

"You know Alice?" Edward said, surprised.

"Yeah, she gave me the card. Her brother's number… Where is the card?" she fumbled around some more.

"It's me…" He said incredulous, and for the first time he mentally kicked himself as he realised that The Girl by the Bridge was this Bella.

"What's me?" Bella asked as she continued to search, "the card was here yesterday."

"I'm Alice's brother, Cullen Landscape Design." And quietly, under his breath, he whispered to himself, "And you're _that_ Bella."

Bella stopped her searching, "Oh, you're _that_ Edward?" She looked up to him and was at a loss for words. Jogging Man was Alice's brother and Alice was trying to get her to date Jogging Man. _'God damn it, Jogging Man and Alice's brother are one and the same!'_

Edward started to laugh. It lit up his eyes and, even though Bella was feeling sick, she couldn't help but think how beautiful he was when his eyes lit up like that, creased at the corners, his whole face animated. His laughter was infectious and Bella laughed along with him as she pictured in her mind Edward, Alice's brother as she had imagined him - short, exuberant with dark spikey hair. How wrong she'd been.

"_That_ Edward? I hate to think what she has said," he grinned.

Bella groaned inwardly for not thinking before she spoke, '_Damn fuzzy head.' _

"Nothing bad, it's just that… you look nothing like Alice, you're so tall…" '_and handsome and hot and I should have listened to Alice.'_

"Yeah, Alice is on the short side, I obviously hogged all the tall genes and she was stuck with the short pixie ones," He laughed again, running his hand through his hair.

Edward then had to shift his eyes away from Bella, because her oversized Snoopy top had slipped off her shoulder and wet drips from her hair were running down her chest, making the swell of her breasts glisten with moisture.

"Um…So, can I have a look at your yard?" Edward asked tentatively, shoving his hands back in his pockets. He needed to get some breathing space. He needed to stop thinking for a moment. She was too beautiful.

"Sure, but be warned, it's a war zone out there and the weeds have won."

"Great, I won't be long then." With that, he made his way to the backdoor.

Bella sighed; she couldn't believe that Jogging Man was in her house and that he would be redoing her backyard. He'd been thoughtful enough to bring her soup when he knew she was sick. "Thank you, God."

Taking another sip of her soup, she wondered how on earth she could have been this lucky. She wondered if she should bring up that Alice had tried to plan a date for the two of them, but she dismissed the idea almost immediately - that would just be too awkward. She smiled as she took another sip. Edward had brought Jake home, Edward had brought her soup, and Edward was now in her backyard.

"Edward Cullen." She said quietly, liking the way his name rolled off her tongue.

The back door opened and closed gently and Bella listened to the heavy footfalls coming her way.

"Well, I think we are going to have to start from scratch. There are a couple of fruit trees up the back that we can save but the rest has to go. It will be a nice blank canvas. Oh, and I found the part of the fence that Jake got through, I'll just get my tools and board it up for you."

As if on cue, Jake and Nessie barrelled through the living room with Nessie in pursuit of Jake who had a now ripped up purple bunny soft toy. Jake playfully let Nessie grab hold of it and he dragged her back across the room.

"Do they ever stop?" Edward asked as he shook his head. "Nessie has been up since five, you would think she'd be tired by now."

"She'll grow out of it, just not when she has a play buddy. They seem to get along really well." Bella mused as she watched the dogs' shenanigans. The tugging and pulling had now developed into a rollie wrestle, with Jake letting Nessie roll all over him, with small play bites to his neck, ears and legs.

Edward shook his head, "Yeah, they do…I'll just go get my stuff."

He made his way to the truck and pulled out his toolbox from the back tray. He slid out some plywood that would perfectly cover the gap in the fence. Making his way through to the backyard via the side gate, he pushed through the vines, bushes and weeds to the hole in the fence. This yard was massive, big enough to build another house on. There was so much potential.

As he pounded on the nails, he wondered what Bella would like to do with it. He smiled as he realised that this would take about a week to finish. A week spent with, well, near Bella. He wondered if he should tell Bella that his sister had tried to set him up on a date with her, but decided that would just be too much of an uncomfortable conversation. Driving in the last nail, he made sure the gap was filled.

"No dog is getting out of this fence." Slipping his hammer into his belt, he turned and pushed through the garden to the house.

Entering the living room, he was surprised to see Bella with Jake on one side of her and Nessie on her lap fast asleep.

"See, she does sleep, Jake just had to puff her out first." Bella smiled as she patted the little puppy. "Oh, and she had to kill Sylvester."

"Kill Sylvester?" Edward asked, a little confused. Bella stuck up her foot. The Sylvester the Cat slippers she wore were now minus a red nose. Actually, the nose was still there, but hanging precariously by a thin thread.

"Poor Sylvester," Edward laughed.

"He put up a good fight," Bella laughed.

"So it seems, I might have to buy a pair for myself," Edward said thoughtfully.

Bella snorted, then covered her mouth as she laughed.

"What?" he asked.

"Sorry, I was just envisioning you going to bed in Sylvester slippers. You just don't seem to be the Looney Tunes type." She started to laugh harder. Seeing her eyes start to water made Edward smirk.

"Oh yeah? Well, what type do you think I am?"

She looked him up and down, her eyes settling on the hammer, which was still in his belt, and started giggling all over again.

"Bob the Builder...Sorry… it must be the cold and flu tablets," Bella wiped her eyes as she tried to contain her giggles.

Edward laughed with her, "Yeah, well, I'm not too bad with a hammer and nails I suppose, but forget the overalls! Anyway, how about I start on your backyard tomorrow, I've got a week free. Have you got any ideas of what you want out there? It's big enough to build another house!"

"I've got a few ideas, but you're the professional, what do you think?"

"You could do anything you want, I could run through your ideas with you if you like, and then start from there?" Edward hoped that she would say yes, just seeing her happy and playful made him want to spend more time with her.

Bella held her breath as she realised that she would have to spend time with Edward, even if it was just on a professional level. It was better than nothing.

"Yeah, sure. When would you like to do that?" She asked tentatively.

"I have a few things to do this morning, how about this afternoon, or this evening?" Edward asked as he pulled his Blackberry out of his pocket and, scrolling through his calendar, he made sure he would be able to move things around. He then realised that it wouldn't matter, that he would move them anyway to make time for Bella.

"How about I make you dinner as thanks for the soup and bringing Jake home?" Bella's heart started to beat faster as the words left her mouth and nerves began to creep in at the thought of a whole evening with Edward.

"You don't have to do that, Bella." He said as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He glanced at Bella and saw that beautiful blush rising on her cheeks.

"But I'd like to. What time suits you?" She said diplomatically, fearing her nerves would get the better of her.

"Ok then, how about six?"

"Six is great…"

They both looked at each other and the room was filled with a moment of uneasy silence.

Edward broke the void, "Um…I should get going, I'll ah …see you tonight, then."

Bella scooped Nessie up from her lap and stood, As she handed her over to Edward, their hands touched and Bella felt a warmth run through her, settling almost like butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

"Ah…and bring Nessie, too. She can eat my other slipper." Bella said, trying to break the strange feeling she had.

"I'll bring some of her toys, we have enough to open our own shop, don't we, Ness?" Edward grinned, "I'll see you at six." He made his way to the front door, with Nessie still asleep in his arms.

When Bella closed the front door behind him, Edward let out a breath; the tingles running up his arm were still there.

"Eight hours, Ness." Edward smiled as he made his way back to the truck.

Driving off, he laughed. "She's beautiful, Ness."

O~O~O~O~O~O

A/N: Yay we made it!

What would you like to see in your "Perfect" garden?


	7. Chapter 7

**SM owns all things Twilight!**

**A/N: A huge thank you to LaMomo, Beta extraordinaire. **

**Lots of love to all my Facebook family, you guys rock my socks!**

**I'll chat with you later, so you can get on and read.**

Chapter 7

Bella stood looking at the closed front door; she could hardly believe that her Jogging Man had actually been in her house. She let out a breath she felt she'd been holding. Her mind was abuzz with the realization that Edward would be back here tonight. She squealed in delight, and skipped back to the lounge room.

"Edward's coming over tonight. Jake, can you believe it?" She reached down to the bemused dog, raised his paws and danced on the spot with him. Jake cocked his head to the side a little, unsure of her exuberance, but he let her play and gave her hand a big sloppy lick.

"You know, Jake, I should be very cranky at you for running away like that." She admonished him playfully as she let his paws down, "But I'm not. Actually, I could kiss you, you naughty boy." Bella laughed, ruffling his fur.

Surprisingly, she felt a little better; her headache had receded somewhat and, removing the soup bowl to the kitchen, she found herself smiling. She still couldn't believe that Edward would do something so kind for her.

"Edward Cullen." She said slowly, feeling the sound slide over her tongue and past her lips. She could still see him, feel him, and smell him, all earthly and warm. She shook her head to get the picture of him out of her head. She felt the urge to ring Alice and tell her that she'd met Edward, and ask her why she hadn't told her how hot he was. She refrained from calling her though; she didn't want the pressure of an "official" date, however nice that would be.

"Keep it platonic, Bella." She chided herself, as she went to open the fridge to see what she could possibly make for dinner. Seeing that it was almost empty, she groaned at the realisation that she would have to go shopping.

Edward pulled up at his office, scooping up Nessie with a smile on his face. He wanted to pull up the plans of Bella's house and land, which he knew he could get hold of through the Department of Planning and Development.

Tanya looked at him in surprise as he walked through the foyer.

"Oh my lord, Edward," She exclaimed as she reached out for Nessie. "You got a puppy! Can I have a cuddle?" Tanya reached out for Nessie and Edward laughed.

"Tanya, meet Nessie." He passed the pup to her outstretched arms.

"Oh, she is gorgeous, Edward! So soft, so fluffy…I might have to take you home with me." Tanya cooed, as Nessie licked her face.

Edward silently chuckled to himself, thinking that Nessie certainly did make women melt.

"Hey, Tanya, can you get Alec on the phone for me, please? I need to get some plans up for the Swan account."

"Swan?" Tanya asked, a little confused, "Isn't that appointment for the end of the week?"

"I um…have moved it forward…I will be seeing the client tonight, so I'd like to have the plans…It's quite a large block…Make sure there are no building or planning restrictions…I'll take the call in my office." Edward said, trying to sound professional, dismissing the "Swan" account as mere business. Inside though, he was nervous, to the point that his heart was racing and his palms felt sweaty.

"Sure, Edward. I'll get Alec on the line…I'm stealing Nessie, by the way." Tanya replied, picking up the phone with her free hand and snuggling Nessie with the other.

Edward shook his head as he turned and entered his office.

Sitting in his chair, he spun and leaned his head back against the soft cushioning. Closing his eyes for just a second, he let his mind envision Bella. Her skin on his, the deep sensuous depths of her eyes, how light she'd felt in his arms, and the sensual shape of her lips as she spoke.

The phone buzzed, shattering Edward's vision, thankfully before it became too graphic.

Edward asked for the plans to Bella's property and Alec was only too happy to email them straight to him. Edward smiled as he fired up his Mac; the years of dealing with Alec had now made all the red tape in getting property details seem to disappear.

He sat back and read the details of the property. The block was indeed large, but there were developing restrictions. There was no way that another dwelling could be erected; Bella's property was earmarked as heritage listing. Her house was one of the first built in that area, before developers started building the city where it was. Her property had been one of the buildings of the Macy's, cattle and dairy farmers, who, for some unspecified reason had sold a large portion of their land to developers of the township in the first half of the 1900's.

Edward wondered whether Bella had bought the property so she would be able to sub-divide. If that was the case, there was no way that would ever be passed, according to this document. In fact, Bella would even find it hard to build an extension to her house.

Edward perused the specifications of Bella's parcel of land and smiled to himself.

"Shit, it's a double sized block," He spun in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, thinking over possibilities. He turned back to the computer and read the fine red print featured on parts of the blue prints. He realised that he would have to tread very carefully with this block of land. One wrong move and the heritage department would be on Bella's case.

Humming to himself, he saved the file and reached for the phone.

"Tanya, can you organise for my crew to be at the Swan residence around 10am tomorrow please? Thanks, Tanya."

"I'll take the strongest cold and flu tablets you've got, please." Bella asked, surveying the pharmacy assistant. _My god, is she even old enough to dispense drugs_? She thought, while the assistant asked for her name and address.

"Take these with some food and be careful driving; they may cause drowsiness." The assistant replied, handing over the medication, "Oh, and please, no more than 6 in a 24 hour period." The girl smiled, and then flipped her chestnut hair over her shoulder as she went to address the next customer in line.

"Thanks." Bella replied, but realising too late that the assistant was already serving someone else.

Placing the medication in her handbag, Bella made her way to the supermarket. She had no idea what to make for dinner.

'_What would Jogging Man eat? I should ring Alice. No, I can't do that. Why not? I can't just ask her what she cooks for her brother… Then she would know something was up… Why can't Alice know something is up? Is something up? I want something to be up… No, it's just business… Yes, that's right, JUST BUSINESS. So, I can call Alice. No, you can't call Alice.'_

Bella wrestled with her mind as she walked up the street. Entering the supermarket, she started to feel a little dizzy, headache overcoming her again. Her mind just didn't want to function properly as she paced the aisles, trying to decide what to cook. She decided she needed to pop a couple of pills. However, this didn't help with the choice.

'_Italian? French? Indian? Chinese? Moroccan? Gahhhhhh!' _All this thinking made her head ache more. So she settled for the easiest thing, a roast. Chuck it in the oven and it's done.

'_Does he like chicken or lamb? Or pork? Maybe he's Jewish, so no pork. Maybe he's a vegetarian?'_

"Stupid fucking cooking!" She exclaimed as she tried to make a decision in front of the meat department. Realising what she'd just said, she spun around to make sure no one had heard her. Unfortunately, there were a few scowling shoppers staring at her. Embarrassed, she mumbled her apologies and grabbed a chicken and some vegetables on her way to the checkout.

After her little expedition, she felt exhausted as she emptied her groceries into the refrigerator. She kicked off her shoes and made her way to bed, Jake following her closely behind. As she slipped under the blankets, she rolled over to cuddle Jake who was nestling beside her. She noticed that she had left her mobile on her bedside table. It was flashing to indicate that a voicemail and a text had come through. Picking it up, she listened to the voice on the other end. It was her Jogging Man, Edward; just the sound of his voice brought the picture of him to her mind and she shivered in anticipation of him coming over tonight.

She was even more surprised that the text was from Edward, too. She clicked save, and laughed as she realised she now had his mobile number. She re-read the text and hit reply.

**Thanks for today. Bella :) **

She waited a second or two for a reply and then, feeling silly, she slipped the mobile back on the table, snuggling into Jake once more. Bella giggled as her phone vibrated, and she instantly reached for it.

**My pleasure, see you tonight? Edward.**

Bella couldn't help but smile as she texted straight back.

**I'm game if you are! B**

She held her breath as a text came straight back.

**Well, I'm game! I'll see you tonight, then. E**

She couldn't help but squeal at the reminder that Edward would be here soon. A shiver ran down her body as her mind wandered, thinking about Edward keeping her warm in bed.

She was surprised as another text came through.

**I hope you are in bed. E**

She raised an eyebrow and her stomach knotted. Could Edward read minds? Almost instantly, another text came though.

**I mean, I hope you are resting. Get over your flu and all. E**

Bella laughed and sighed. She considered typing back that, she was indeed in bed , and could she use him as a hot water bottle? But instead she typed,

**Having a nap now. See you later Jogging Man :P**

She laughed to herself as she hit send, and then worried that she'd written the wrong thing.

**Later, Girl By the Bridge ;)**

Her heart fluttered as she read and re-read the last message. There was something sweet about the fact that he had a nickname for her just as she had for him. She placed the phone down and sighed, "How can I get Edward to like me?"

Sleepily and with her head full of images of Edward and his fluffy puppy, she drifted off to sleep.

It was 5:30pm; Alice had to stay back a little later than usual at her shop because of the delayed delivery of some Louboutin shoes.

She cursed the slow traffic as she tried to make it back to her apartment. Held up at some traffic lights, she tapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, and tried not to gag on the fumes of car exhausts. She flicked the switch to close the roof of her convertible and turned on the air conditioning.

Seth barked in the back and scratched at the window.

"Seth, settle down! What you barking at?" she asked, reaching to pat him. She followed his gaze as he barked once more.

Tied to a small tree was Nessie, who looked tiny even beside a small stick of a tree. Alice looked around, concerned that she couldn't see Edward.

"What the hell, Edward! What is he thinking, someone will pinch her!" Alice said with frustration. She tooted her horn to try to get the traffic to move along. "Come on!" she willed the car in front of her.

The traffic started to snake along and Alice spied a car trying to move out of its parking space. Looking about to make sure it was safe, she glided her car into the vacated space alongside the curb.

"You guys, I'll just be a minute…Be good." She inched down the windows so Seth and Leah would have some air, exited the car and beeped it locked. She darted across the street, in front of the slow moving traffic; drivers tooting their horns at her in agitation as she passed.

"Nessie, where's your Daddy?" She cooed, scooping up Nessie. "He's a very naughty daddy, isn't he?" She cuddled Nessie as she looked around for any sign of Edward. She turned and unhitched the lead from the tree.

"Alice?"

"Shit," she squeaked, "You scared me, Edward! Why did you leave Nessie out here on the street? Someone will snatch her." Alice grumbled at her brother.

"I can't take her into the shop Alice; I was just getting some…um…" Edward stalled, not knowing if he should explain why he had two bottles of wine under his arm.

"You can take her in. She's so little no one will know. I did buy you that doggie carry bag, Edward."

"Alice, you bought a pink diamanté carry bag that is fitting for someone like Paris Hilton. I'm not a queen, Alice, or maybe you want me to wear heels to match the bag?" exasperated, Edward went to reach for Nessie but, as he did, one of the bottles of wine started to slip. Juggling the wine, he repositioned them so that he could carry Ness at the same time.

"Relax, Edward. One - the bag is cute; two - you wouldn't be able to walk in heels, that's just wrong," Alice laughed, shaking her head; the vision of Edward in pink diamanté high heels gave her the giggles. Edward scowled at his sister as she continued to laugh at him.

"You quite alright, Alice?"

Alice nodded and took a breath to quell the giggles, "Sorry, I was just worried about Nessie…Any way, who's the wine for?" She asked, helping Nessie back into Edward's free arm.

"What…Oh, the wine…Um…" Edward struggled a little, unable to decide if he should tell Alice about going to Bella's. "Um…It's for… a client." His mind went back to this morning as he carried Bella to her lounge. She was so light, so soft, and so cute in her Sylvester slippers. _'Argh damn it, I was going to get her a replacement pair.'_

"Couldn't you decide which one?" Alice asked, looking at the wine, securely under his arm, one a white and one a red.

"What?"

"The wine, Edward. God, you're acting weird." Alice started to frown at her brother, but noticed that he was blushing. Edward didn't blush like most people, his ears would flush a deep shade of pink, and then it would be gone. Alice was sure that she was the only person that knew this about him. '_Edward must like this client,'_ Alice thought.

"So, who's the client?" She asked as they walked along the street.

"Alice, it's just business…The client asked to review some plans over dinner tonight, as that was the best time for her…That's all." He replied, hoping Alice would back off.

Alice grinned; knowing her brother better than he knew himself. She wanted to pry a little more, but knew it would only piss him off, so she left it alone-for now.

"That's great, Edward. Anyway… I had better get back to the car; I left Seth and Leah… Oh, have fun tonight." Alice scooted back across the street, with horns blaring to mark her crossing.

"You trying to kill yourself, little sis?" Edward yelled at her as she sidestepped cars. Alice just laughed.

She unlocked the car and slipped in.

"I knew it!" she squealed to herself as she rummaged through her bag to find her phone.

"Hi, Tanya…Hey, can you tell me which client Edward is meeting with tonight? Yeah, I can hold…" Alice thrummed her fingers on the steering wheel. "Yeah, I'm still here…Swan…Really? What about the rest of the week? Really?... Thanks, Tanya, I owe you one, thanks."

"YES!" Alice laughed and her smile grew wider the closer she got to home.

Bella groaned as she rolled over. "What is making that god-awful noise?" she mumbled, trying to sit up in bed. She unwrapped her legs from the blanket, causing her mobile to hit the floor hard. A pained beeping rang out.

"Aw, shit!" Bella scrambled, realising that the awful noise was actually her alarm. Reaching down, she looked at the screen for any damage, sighing in relief that it was still intact. Turning off the alarm, she saw the time. 5:35pm.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

She would have bolted out of bed, but the stabbing pain of her headache was still there. Slowing her movements, she popped out two cold and flu pills from the container, swallowing them down with the glass of water beside her bed.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She snapped, making her way into the kitchen almost tripping over Jake. "Sorry, boy." Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out the chicken, felt the weight and looked back at the clock on the wall.

"GARHHHHH…God, I don't have time to cook this…What am I going to do? Jake, should I cook the chook? Or should I just get some take-out?" Jake cocked his head to the side and whined a little.

"Good idea Jake, take-out it is." Bella replaced the chicken in the fridge and rested her forehead on the closed door. '_Real classy, Bells, first date and we're eating take-out!'_

Jake whined again and Bella shook her head. "Yeah, I know it's not a date…Just business. That's all."

Bella looked at the clock again. "Shit, he's going to be here in fifteen minutes!"

She ran to her room, gritted her teeth as her head pounded. She threw the blankets back on the bed, and the pillows and comforter haphazardly back into place, tugging on the ends to make the bed look neater. The room was getting darker by the minute and she flicked on the light so she could rummage through her closet to find something to wear.

"What to wear, what to wear? Not a date, not a date." She mumbled to herself, picking out a pair or black denim jeans, then threw them to the side and pulled out some black tights.

"Ok. Top, top, top…Ah, there you are!" she pulled out a soft knit cashmere top and threw it on the bed with the tights.

"Ten minutes, Jake! Shit!" She scrambled to the bathroom and started the shower, washing herself as quickly as she could. She ran a shaver under her arms and along her legs, as the conditioner soaked into her hair, thanking god she had shaved yesterday, otherwise she would have needed at least another ten minutes just for that.

She stepped out of the shower and Jake licked her wet legs.

"Eww Jake, stop it!" Bella said sternly, pushing him away. Unfortunately, Jake saw this an excuse to play and he grabbed the end of the towel in a game of tug-o-war.

"Jake, no!" she admonished, but this just made Jake pull harder, dragging Bella out of the bathroom. "No, Jake!" She yelled again, yanking the towel hard. Bella felt the towel start to give and pulled it again in triumph, but then she heard a loud rip as the towel got torn right down the middle. Not prepared for the loss of traction, Bella fell backward into the bathroom, slipping on the wet tiles and landing on her backside.

She landed with a thud and she was sure that her coccyx was broken. "Arrrh, Jake!" she screamed out in pain, with half a towel in her hand.

Bella tried to move, but the pain in her lower back and buttocks made it very hard. She lay back on the cold tiles. "I could kill you, Jake!" she groaned. Jake stood over her and licked her face. She tried to push him away but he wouldn't move, only kept licking her more, as if he knew she was defenceless. She screamed and then started laughing when she realised how ridiculous this situation was, but the more she laughed, the more her butt hurt.

Edward made his way tentatively up the few steps and onto the veranda. The wisteria's fragrance hung thickly in the evening air. Edward heard a scream come from within the house and his heart rate picked up.

"What the hell!" He hissed, hearing a loud thud and yet another scream. He placed the wine and the blueprints down and headed around the side of the veranda to where the noises were coming from, desperately worried that someone was hurting Bella.

"I could kill you, Jake!" He heard and made his way faster. He reached a set of French doors and then heard Bella's unmistakeable laughter. He slowed and peeked through the glass of the French doors.

At first, all he saw was a bed, strewn with brightly coloured silk cushions, a light hung from the roof; no cover, just a plain bulb hanging from its anchor. Further into the room, on the other side of the bed was an open door with a brighter light. He heard a playful bark and watched, as the form of a person rose from the floor. Edward gasped, taking in a sharp breath. It was Bella, stark naked and hanging onto what looked like a tea towel. Her body glistened with moisture and her hair hung in a wet mess, half falling forward covering one breast slightly. She was laughing and rubbing her backside.

"Sweet Jesus," he murmured under his breath.

She turned and he watched her nice round bottom as she rubbed it. She reached to her bathroom cabinet, stretching her naked long limbs as she reached for what looked like some Tylenol. Edward shuddered and had to turn around; the sight of her was making him throb.

"Come on, Ness." He whispered, making his way back to the front of the house. He sat down at the top step. The stone step was cold underneath him; he took a deep breath and tried not to think about what he'd just seen. Bella was just luscious; he wanted to lick those water drops off her body. He felt relieved that she wasn't in danger, but he was more worried about the effect her naked form, whose visual was now firmly branded into his brain.

He sat motionless, willing his dick to calm the hell down, trying to think of anything but Bella naked.

"_Emmett in his sweats, Emmett in tights, Emmett naked._" He shuddered and shook his head.

"_Get a grip, Edward. Business, business, business. She's a client, just a client."_ He chanted to himself. He looked at his watch and saw that he'd been sitting still for at least 15 minutes and realising only now why Nessie was pulling at her lead and almost chewing through it.

He eased himself off the step and toward the door. "I will not envision her naked, I will not envision her naked!" he murmured over and over again, like a mantra.

He raised his hand to the door and knocked, checking for the last time to make sure he had the wine and the blue prints-for the job.

Forgetting that she'd already taken the cold and flu tablets, Bella reached for the Tylenol and popped two in her mouth, swallowing them down with some water from the faucet.

"Well, you really killed the towel, Jake!" she laughed, reaching to get a fresh towel. She turned to look at her backside in the mirror and noticed a definite bruise developing; it ached like hell.

She dried herself and sprayed herself generously with her favourite perfume, Chance by Chanel; it was citrusy and floral all at the same time. She breathed in, loving the extravagant smell, and smiled, loving the way it could make her feel like a million dollars.

Her nerves didn't resurface until she looked in the mirror after changing into her clothes. Her maroon cashmere top hung in a low V, showing just a peek of her red lace bra and the curve of her breast. She adjusted the top so it hid her bra, and pulled the bottom so it covered her hips, but that made the bra show again; frustrated, she decided that she'd put on a different top.

At that exact point, there was a knock at the door. Jake barked and ran for the front door; Bella's heart rate picked up and her nerves spiked, almost making her feel sick. Forgetting the idea of putting a new top on, she made her way to the door.

'_Ok, be cool…it's just Edward, he's here for work, he's here for work.'_

As she reached the door, she actually started feeling a little floaty; she took a deep breath and opened it.

She smelled divine, all citrusy and flowery, and the colour of her top highlighted her blushing cheeks. Her hair was still damp and hung forward over one shoulder, falling over her breast.

'_Dear lord, let me have strength!'_ She was wearing that red bra; he could see the lace peeking out her top, making the curve of her breast look divine.

Edward licked his lips and made an effort not to stare at her breasts. She was smiling nervously.

"Um…Hi." He made himself say; Bella laughed and he wondered what could be so funny.

"I think you should let Nessie off the lead," she giggled.

Edward looked down to see that Nessie's lead was wrapped around his legs . She must have run circles around him and he hadn't even noticed, since he'd been busy watching Bella.

"Arh… yeah…right." He bent down and let Nessie off; she quickly scampered into the house with Jake.

"Come in," she opened the door wider and he took a step past her, breathing in her lovely fragrance. "I hope you don't mind take-out. I um…ran out of time…you know…to cook." She nervously wriggled her fingers and looked down at the floor.

"Take-out sounds great," he smiled at her nervousness.

"Oh great, come in…into the living room…let me take those," she offered, reaching for the bottles of wine. Edward handed them to her and ran his hand though his hair. _'Business Edward, business! Stop looking at her top, business…right.' _He took a deep breath and watched her move into the kitchen. her black tights outlining her subtle curves, her top clinging in all the right places. She returned with two chilled glasses filled with white wine and placed them on the coffee table. Then, she sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her, suggesting he should sit.

"I've got the blueprints of your property here; it might give you some ideas of what you want to do with your yard." Edward said, sitting down next to her on the soft couch.

"Let's order some dinner, and then we'll have a look at what you've got." Bella suggested as she picked up a small booklet from the table.

"Sounds great, what have you got there?" He asked motioning toward the booklet.

"Oh, this? It's Cuisine Courier. It was in my mailbox a week ago, they deliver for about 20 restaurants around town. Great idea, right? I mean, some of the places in here are _real_ restaurants and all the menus are in this booklet." She said quite excited, her words almost running into each other, "So what do you feel like eating? They do say that it can take up to 45 minutes for delivery though, you OK with that?"

"Yeah, sure… I'm in no rush," He laughed lightly at her obvious nerves, glad the he wasn't the only one.

"So…um, what do you like to eat? There is Chinese, Thai, Indian, Steakhouse…pretty much every cuisine is covered." She turned to face him, holding out the booklet and, raising her face to meet his stare, she smiled at him. It lit up her eyes.

'_God, even her eyes are stunning. Stop staring, Edward…just look at the book. No, not the boobs…THE BOOK…Get it together, Edward.'_

"I'll eat pretty much anything," he said, reaching for the booklet, but it slipped from his grasp, falling on the floor between them. They both reached down at the same time and their hands both grabbed the book at the same time, Edward's hand covering Bella's.

They both stilled as they felt a familiar feeling run through their hands. It was an unmistakeable electric tingling. Their faces were but an inch apart, turned toward each other, so close they could feel each other's warm breath on their skin. Their eyes searched the other's for meaning, inching closer still.

His eyes entranced her - so clear, so green, like an endless jade ocean. She could feel his breath on her cheek; her heart raced, as she was highly aware of their joined hands. All her senses were alert in this moment. He smelled like coconut and spice, a deep woody aroma that made her want to sniff him more. His lips, just an inch away, seemed to be pulling her closer. Her mind was full with the awareness of Edward.

She was so close his lips tingled; she filled his mind with her presence, her scent, her deep brown chocolate eyes, the charge running up his arm from where they'd touched. He could imagine the softness of her lips on his. He could taste her - soft, warm and sweet. It seemed as if gravity held him in this place and time, with her.

Their lips met, slow and passionate, moving in perfect synchronicity. The booklet was forgotten and Edward moved his hand to her waist as Bella's hand moved to the back of Edwards's neck and snaked up to his hair.

His lips were softer than she'd imagined and, where they touched, every nerve tingled, sending a deep harmonic frequency though her body. She ran her hand though his hair and subtly pulled him closer to her, quietly humming with the intensity she felt.

Edward was lost in her, he wanted her closer and snaked his arm around her waist. He sensed her; it felt like she was sinking into his soul, melting under his lips, his hand. She filled every cell of his being, all time and space lost.

Jake bounded up and onto the couch and barked loud at Nessie, encouraging her to jump up, too.

This broke the kiss, bringing both Edward and Bella out of their moment.

They looked at each other, finally aware of what they'd just done.

"Sorry…I…Um…" Edward began, unsure what he wanted to say. Bella cut him off.

"No…I'm sorry…I…ahhh…I," Her mind was a mess. All she could think was that she'd just been kissing Edward and she wanted to do it again. "Um…maybe we should order some food…?"

Edward shifted on the couch; he could still feel her lips on his. _'God, how could I fuck this up so bad!'_

"You sure? …" he was a little in shock and ran his hand through his hair, _'she must hate me now, shit, shit, shit!'_

"Yeah, here. You pick." Bella picked up the booklet that was still on the floor and gave it to Edward. He looked so worried. _'Oh, no…he wished he didn't kiss me…oh god, what have I done!'_

Bella picked up a glass of wine, took a big gulp and then another, draining the glass. "Would you like another glass of wine?" she asked as Edward took a long drink of his.

"That would be great. How about Thai?" he asked, looking a little less worried. _'At least she's not asking me to leave.'_

"I like Thai, I'll just go get the phone and some more wine." With that, she quickly moved into the kitchen to grab the bottle of wine and the cordless phone. She paused before going back out.

There was definitely something there, something between them. She had never felt that kind of energy run through her. But what to do now? What to say? "Oh god, it's so awkward" she mumbled to herself, then shook her head._ 'Just pretend it didn't happen…but it did…his lips are so soft…I'm out of my mind! Come on, Bella!'_

Edward stared blankly at the menu in front of him. _'Should I apologise for kissing her? But I'm not sorry…She kissed me back…Damn, she tastes so good…hmmm,'_ his mind wandered to the vision of Bella naked in the bathroom, but in his arms instead, as he licked water drops off her neck. _'arhh, get your mind out of the gutter, Cullen…business…landscaping…remember!'_ He roughly ran his hand through his hair and rearranged the bulge he was now sporting in his pants. "Shit!" he muttered under his breath.

"So, have you picked something?" Bella asked, walking back into the living room with an air of nonchalance.

"Um… yeah…" Edward searched the menu and picked the first thing that stood out, "I'll get the Duck curry."

"Hmmm, I love duck…here's your wine," She sat down beside Edward and tried to remain as calm as she possibly could. She was very glad to have the wine as it did take the edge off. "I might get the beef Rendang and the Thai rice…You want anything else?" She asked as she started to dial the number to order.

"Nah, that sounds good though," he lifted his wine glass as if in thanks and took another long sip, likewise glad to have the alcohol to calm his nerves. He reached down to the blueprints and unrolled them onto the coffee table. Bella lifted her glass to give him room.

He looked over the blueprints as Bella gave the order and her address.

"Wow, is that my place?" she asked as she hung up the phone.

"Yep, it surely is. You have the biggest block in the neighbourhood." Edward grinned as he envisioned all the possibilities of her back yard. "Did you know it on the heritage listing?"

"Really, are you sure?" Bella asked quite surprised.

"Yeah, apparently it dates back to the 1900's. I hope you're not thinking of re-developing." He asked, hoping that her answer would be no, as it could take years to get permission to change the appearance of the house.

"No way, I love this place…Maybe a little change on the inside but not outside…it's too quaint."

"Yeah, it does have a charm…Anyway, this is the amount of space you have out there." Edward circled her yard with a lead pencil.

"What…No…That cannot be possible!" she exclaimed, looking at the blueprints, "There is no way my yard is that big." The circle was around a parcel of land that you could build a house on.

"Yep, this is your yard…Didn't you get it surveyed when you bought it?" He asked, watching with amusement, the look of surprise on her face.

"Well, I got a builder to make sure the building was sound and had no termites and stuff, but that was it." Her face fell as she realised that she had obviously missed a few things when she bought the house.

"Well, you got yourself a huge yard, but with it being on the heritage list you won't be able to build a house out back." He laughed, "So, what do you want to do with it?"

Bella looked closer at the blueprints, "You sure that's my place? My yard doesn't look that big!"

"Well, you do have a hell of a lot of weeds, trees and bushes out there. You'd be surprised with how big it will look when we clear it." Edward smiled, knowing it could take up to two days just to clear the place.

Bella sipped her wine, "Can I have a hot tub? Or does that count as a building?"

"Arhhh…sure, hot tubs don't count as buildings Bella," he chuckled at the random question and the vision of Bella sitting in a hot tub.

"How about a pool?" she asked, smiling at the fact that Edward had relaxed and seemed more comfortable than before.

"You can have whatever you like, as long as it's not a dwelling, you know, for living in." He shook his head and took a long sip of his wine, emptying it.

Bella finished hers and felt a bit of a head rush, "More wine, Edward?" she asked, refilling his glass before he could answer, and then filled her own.

"Sure, Bella," again he laughed and held up his wine glass to hers, "To your new backyard."

"To my new backyard," they clinked glasses and sipped the crisp wine.

Jake bounded through the room again with his new fluffy friend and skidded to a stop, barking at the front door.

"I guess that will be dinner." Bella stated, getting up to stand.

Edward dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"Put that away Edward, if I had woken up earlier you'd be eating roast chicken. Just pretend I'm a master Thai chef!" with that, she went to pay for the take out.

Edward watched her walk to the front door; her hips swayed slightly and she wobbled a little as she walked. The sleeve of her top fell from her shoulder and he could see the red lace of her bra strap. Gritting his teeth, he willed himself not to think of her back in that bathroom.

As Bella made her way to the door, she could feel the effects of the wine. It was going straight to her head, actually her legs. They felt a little wobbly. She stilled herself against the doorframe as she paid the deliveryman.

"I'll just get some plates." She said as she went into the kitchen. Rummaging through the cupboards, she pulled out her Asian-inspired plates and grabbed some forks. A clink of glass on the counter surprised her. She turned around and smiled, Edward was grinning as he held out her glass of wine.

"Here you go, dinner is served." She pushed a plate toward him and motioned to the take away containers.

"Smells delicious, Bella. You must open a restaurant!" he laughed. Bella had to laugh too, some host she was!

They ate in the kitchen and it was comfortable and casual. The earlier awkwardness of that kiss was pushed to the back of their minds. When the plates were rinsed, they made their way back to the living room with a freshly opened bottle of wine.

Edward felt relaxed and Bella tried not to show that the alcohol had indeed gone to her head. She cursed herself for taking the painkillers on top of the cold and flu tablets. The mixture was going straight to her head faster than usual.

They sat on the couch a little closer than before and Bella struggled to keep her eyes open.

"How about we put the hot tub here and we could put in some decking off the veranda here," Edward drew in pencil on the blueprint, "We could set it into the deck…" Edward continued.

Bella nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good."

"So, we want to have a focal point," Edward turned to Bella and he could see that she was getting sleepy. "We can do this tomorrow, if you like?"

"Nah, no it's ok…just…the wine…a bit fuzzy." She smiled lazily and put her hand on his leg, "Keep going, I like your voice."

"Um…ahh…ok," he turned back to the blueprint and tried not to think about her hand on his leg. The warmth of her hand seeped through the denim of his jeans. "So, a focal point…something that draws you into the garden," Edward turned back to Bella as she ran her hand along his leg. Was she humming?

She looked up at him intently as she rested her head against the back of the couch. "Your eyes are so pretty," she slurred slightly.

"So are your lips." He said quietly, watching her slowly drift off to sleep.

For the second time today, he carried Bella, but this time it was to her bedroom.

~0~0~0~

A/N: Damn Cold and Flu tablets!

So where are they going to go from here?

I have just started University, so my updates will be a little slow coming out. Well, until I get my head around the assignments!

Thanks so much for reading.

If you like period Fics go read LaMomo's – Moorward!

http(:)(.)net/s/6623255/1/Everything_I_Knew_Was_Wrong_or_The_Long_Road_Home


End file.
